The Great Switch
by just-a-little-author
Summary: "Twenty four students, or six from each house will be selected to spend their 8th year in a different house. This will help us put aside cultural and ethical beliefs that have separated us in the past." When returning for their 8th year in school, a new scheme devised by the acting Head Mistress will diffuse tension between houses... supposedly. Dramione, M for future chapters.
1. The Great Switch (a-roo)

**Well hello there! Yes, it's me back for more after quite a long break, really!  
I sort of gave up on writing Fanfics for a while, but I have adopted a new strategy, and my plot bunnies seem to be rather Dramione centric anyway. **

**So, little note here:  
Please follow the link to my tumblr on my author page thingy if you have any questions for me about not so related stuff/wanted to pick my brain or anything. Also, this story is not going to be a 20 chapter flyby (unless I increase chapter length aha) I really felt like (though I loved every second of TiP) my last fic was a little rushed and there just wasn't enough character development as I had originally intended there to be. I think this was because I pushed myself to update too fast, SO this fic will be updated once a week (with a few exceptions).  
I know where I'm going with this, and I hope I will see an improvement aha! :) **

**Thankyou if you're reading this, you're wondeful. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places or names, I just wrote more :) **

**Also, I'm looking for a beta reader for this, so if you'd be interested please message me! **

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"Blimey Hermione, you're certainly quiet this evening." Ron spluttered over a mouthful of food, which caused Harry to burst out laughing, and Hermione to groan and turn away in disgust.  
"Honestly Ronald, how many times have I told you to chew with your mouth _shut_?!" she growled, which simply caused Harry to laugh even more.

It had been a few months since the war had ended, and the seventh year students who'd missed a year previous had returned to complete their education.  
There'd been much debate about what to do with all of the students who had lost almost a year of their education under the Death Eaters brief, but tyrannical rule of Hogwarts. However after much deliberation, it had been decided that Hogwarts would always be there for those who needed or wanted it, and so the school had taken the necessary requirements to accommodate an extra year of pupils.  
Hermione had actually found it rather embarrassing that she was learning a curriculum that was also being taught to students a year their junior, but after some getting used to the idea she realised it wouldn't be such a bad idea to enjoy her classes alongside her friends like Luna and Ginny, although she was relieved when it was announced that the 'Year 8's' (as they had been dubbed) would be taking many classes separate to the seventh years, in order to further their education as well as going over their seventh year.  
Coming back had been odd, especially when there were obvious holes in the school life,  
Professor Dumbledore being a key loss. Not to mention the snide potions Professor who was secretly missed by many, if not all of the students.

"Seriously though 'Mione, what's up?" Ron asked, concern lacing his tone as he looked to his friend curiously.  
Hermione sighed and rubbed her eyes, looking down at the delicious welcome feast that for some reason wasn't doing anything to lighten her mood.  
"It's nothing Ron, don't worry." She said softly, giving him a reassuring smile as he nodded and then carried on eating.  
In all honesty, she was nervous. The school dynamic would be a completely different one this year, she wasn't naïve enough to believe things wouldn't have changed.  
She just hoped they'd change for the better.  
"Ahem, sorry, oh goodness me." There was a slight kerfuffle at the teachers table, and the hall fell silent as the students looked up to see the new Headmistress fumbling out of her seat as she made her way back to the podium.  
Professor Trelawney shot a murderous glance at the young woman as she stumbled over her robes.  
"Sorry Professor, just trying to get to the, yes sorry." Ron groaned whilst Harry stifled a snicker as Angelina positioned herself in front of the podium.  
"Right then." She began, smiling brightly at the bemused hall of students. "Sorry about this, I actually forgot to give a notice." She chuckled nervously and Hermione could have sworn she heard McGonagall mutter something along the lines of "_Oh _how_ unprofessional_."  
"Ok that was a lie, I actually forgot to give several notices," Angelina smiled apologetically before clearing her throat and continuing.  
"Right so, we have several new members of staff joining us this year, including myself but I already said hello in the bit after the sorting, so anyway, please give a warm Hogwarts welcome to Oliver Wood, who will be our new Quidditch coach!" She exclaimed gesturing towards the red faced young man; she paused expecting a round of applause that never came. Eventually she lowered her arms and nodded awkwardly.  
"Great bloke. Ok, so next announcement, I would like all eighth year students to stay behind after the feast, thank you very much please enjoy desert." She smiled once more, before attempting to get back to her seat amongst the smatterings of applause without tripping over Professor Trelawney's robe tails.  
The chatter resumed, and Hermione turned back around to her untouched dinner.  
"Good gracious I knew they shouldn't have made Johnson the acting head, she practically walloped Trelawney! Did you see when she was waving around at Wood?" Ginny threw back her head and laughed, whilst Hermione felt a pang of sympathy towards the fumbling young woman they'd brought in as acting head.  
"I still can't believe McGonagall wouldn't do it." Ron mused around a mouthful of mashed potato.  
"You know she'd never give up teaching." Hermione pointed out, and Harry shrugged.  
"I guess, but still why Angelina? Let's face it there were probably many more suitable candidates."  
Hermione shot Harry a dark look.  
"Don't be so cruel! Don't you remember she got the best NEWT's we'd had at the school for over ten years? She's more than qualified Harry." She snapped, which led him to raise his hands in submission.  
"Alright! Fair enough, I just wish she wouldn't interrupt dinner." Hermione snickered and rolled her eyes.  
"Now you're sounding like Ron."

"Can you believe they picked _Johnson_ for head? Good lord the way she fumbled about on stage had me almost feeling _sorry_ for her." Draco remarked snidely, which was met by a chorus of agreement from his fellow Slytherins.  
Blaise rolled his eyes, "Give her a chance Malfoy, you've learnt many a time not to judge people by their house."  
Draco shot Blaise a surprised and slightly betrayed glance.  
"Give me credit Zabini, I wasn't referring to the fact that she happened to be a Gryffindor, I'm simply stating that she pottered about like a headless owl up there!"  
Blaise chuckled and conceded to Draco's comment with a slight inclination of the head, before slicing his pork into thin, equal slithers.  
Draco often despaired at his best friend's impeccable table manners, he was practically effeminate.  
"What do you think she wants us for after dinner anyway?" He asked, glancing towards Theo Nott for inspiration.  
The other boy shrugged.  
"No idea. Has anyone seen Pansy by the way?" He said quickly, glancing about to check no one was listening.  
Draco shook his head and took another bite of his potato hastily, desert would be served soon.  
Blaise looked up from his plate and sighed, glaring at Theo Nott.  
"Nott you insufferable gossip, as if she hasn't been through enough as it is." He snapped, and Nott blushed awkwardly.  
"Sorry." He mumbled, looking back down at his plate, abashed.  
Blaise waved a hand dismissively.  
"No, no you may as well tell him now, he won't let up until he knows." Draco rolled his eyes but didn't deny the accusation; instead he leant in towards Theo and raised an eyebrow.  
"Well?"  
Theo grinned and spilled the beans.  
"Turns out she was actually neutral, y'know along with a couple of us." A few Slytherins, including Zabini, around them nodded in understanding. Many of the young ones forced to partake in the war had actually decided to stay on the fence, a few even fighting against their parents and other Death Eaters in the end.  
Draco felt a pang of guilt. Of all of them he'd probably been the most far gone. Until the last minute he'd actually been completely on the side of the Dark Lord. At least Blaise could say he'd never supported the Death Eaters.  
"And her parents found out." A couple of the people around them drew in breath sharply.  
"What happened?" Draco asked apprehensively. His mother had known at the start of the battle that she would most likely lose her son to the other side by the end, he'd always been unsure of his position with the Death Eaters.  
But he was sure that if his father had known of his uncertainty he would have sold him out to Voldemort.  
"They grassed." Theo said simply, and several students winced. "You should see her face, she got off lightly if you ask me, but I don't think that's any consolation."  
Draco shook his head in astonishment, he had been wondering where their usual female companion was.  
"Well now you all know." Blaise drawled boredly as he pushed his plate forward and his food disappeared.  
"Maybe we can leave the poor girl alone? It's no wonder she wouldn't come down to dinner when she knew all you lot would be gossiping."  
Draco flushed slightly, but said nothing. As usual, Blaise was right.  
Out of habit, he glanced over surreptitiously to the usual spot on the Gryffindor table, a smile begging to pull on his lips as he watched her slap the Weasel on the arm, and then proceed to flick Potter's forehead.  
Her long chocolate tresses were in their usual un-tamed state, a state which the Slytherin happened to find sickeningly endearing.  
"What on earth are you grinning at?" Blaise teased, shoving Draco jokingly as he tried to follow the blonde's line of vision. Immediately the Malfoy heir snapped out of his mindless trance, cursing himself for being so blindingly obvious.  
He usually managed to keep it under control, the strange obsession he cultivated with the bushy haired girl, but for some reason that evening his attention was slipping slightly, and he wasn't as guarded as usual.  
"Nothing." Draco replied hastily, quickly averting his gaze back down to his plate as dinner was cleared from it. Blaise looked at him suspiciously for a moment before shrugging and turning back to his conversation with Nott, leaving Malfoy to his thoughts, and profiteroles.  
He was really quite partial to profiteroles.

As the prefects guided the younger students out of the great hall at a painfully slow pace, the remaining 8th years descended into chatter as they waited for the long drawn out announcement Professor Johnson was to make.  
Eventually, the great oaken doors swung closed, and Angelina Johnson took her place back at the podium, this time without much hassle.  
She cleared her throat and eventually the students fell silent.  
"Well, I'm sure you're all wondering what exactly is going on." She began, smiling slightly in anticipation of what she was about to announce.  
"Well, it is with a great deal of excitement that I announce the first annual Hogwarts Relationship and Team Management Building Exercise." She grinned.  
The students looked up at her in bewilderment, and Hermione groaned in embarrassment for the poor woman as tumbleweed virtually bounced across the teacher's bench.  
McGonagall sighed in exasperation, placing her head in her hands as Hagrid offered a hand.  
"Or, as we originally brainstormed, The Great Switch-Aroo."  
You could practically hear McGonagall's disapproval echo around the great hall.  
Angelina smiled at Hagrid thankfully, and turned back to the students.  
"Yes, I had originally thought that was catch-ier." It took a minute for the poor Headmistress to realise that the reason her new idea wasn't met with torrents of applause, was probably due to the fact that she hadn't actually explained what it was.  
"Oh, right." She grinned, before continuing. "As we all know, the events of the past year were horrendous for all to say the very least. And it is in my best interests as acting Headmistress, and in the Wizarding World's interests overall, to prevent it from ever happening again. One small step towards absolute peace is this new plan, a brilliant adventure for Hogwarts students to partake in. As Hagrid dubbed it, 'The Great Switch-Aroo.'  
To put it simply, twenty four students, or six from each house will be selected to spend their entire 8th year in a different house. This will help us put aside cultural and ethical beliefs that have separated us in the past,"  
There was an awkward silence as everyone stared at the Slytherin's and Professor Johnson pretended she didn't notice.  
"It will help us become more of a united front, as obviously the people of that house would be expected to help their new housemates to settle in, and to welcome them warmly.  
You would be expected to eat with your house, take lessons with your new house, and you will of course be given robes to further integrate you as part of that house.  
Not only this, but a series of exciting challenges and tasks throughout the year will determine the winner of the challenge, and the winning house will be awarded five hundred house points.  
The students shall be selected at random; three boys and three girls from each house, and you will then be placed into your new house at random also. Any questions?"  
Hermione looked up at their headmistress in absolute shock.  
She certainly had questions, but most of them revolved around the "are you blooming serious?!" genre.  
When no one raised their hand, Professor Johnson beamed in delight and waved her hand delicately.  
"You are dismissed, the candidates will be selected at random and announced tomorrow evening, after dinner."  
Ron turned to his two friends, a look of clear astonishment on his face.  
"She's bloody having us on!" He declared as Harry groaned and Hermione felt the familiar pang of sympathy.  
"Well I think it could be a brilliant idea! It's obvious she's worked very hard on it and I see no reason why we shouldn't" The dark haired boy sighed and interrupted;  
"Hermione, we all know you feel sorry for her, you don't have to defend her every blooming chance you get." Harry teased, wrapping his arm around her waist as he squeezed her into a hug.  
Ron's hands clenched into fists as he quickly stepped towards Hermione as well.  
"Well anyway," The Weasley said loudly, quickly placing himself on the girl's other side and shooting Harry a dangerous look. "Me and Seamus got talking while Angelina was battering on, instead of the New Year party we'd normally have tonight, we're going to have a going away party tomorrow before six poor souls have to leave us for the year, what do you think 'Mione, you up for it?" He grinned, placing an arm round her shoulder and almost shoving Harry out of the way.  
Hermione grimaced as she glanced up at the two boys who were basically crushing her.  
With a quick skip she dodged out from both their embraces and marched a few feet ahead, turning back to smile at Ron in reply.  
"Well I should think so Ronald, though I do hope I won't be one of the ones going, it would be purely dreadful to not spend our last year together, don't you think?"  
Both boys grinned and nodded, hurrying to catch her up.  
"I doubt any of us will be chosen Hermione, the odds are pretty good I guess." Harry grinned encouragingly and Hermione nodded.  
"I hope you're right."

"Salazar save us, I bloody hope I won't be moved to Hufflepuff." Blaise groaned as he and Draco trudged into the dungeons and the extended bedrooms that would be the year eight boys.  
Draco made a face. In all honesty he hadn't even considered being picked, he'd just assumed the chances were so low he'd be able to go about his last year relatively undisturbed, maybe enjoy a few parties the Slytherin house was famous for throwing.  
"I just hope we don't get anyone truly pitiful having to share our room. Apparently you, Nott and I are still in the same room that leaves space for one. We can only hope we get a Ravenclaw or something." He grumbled, and Blaise nodded in agreement.  
They made their way through the strangely quiet common room; most houses seemed to have had a similar idea of saving their usual new school year parties for the next day, when six students would be forced out of their comfort zones.  
They walked past the doors to the 7th year rooms they would have occupied last year had they spent much time in school, and instead made their way to the newly added temporary 8th years dorms.  
They swung open the door to find Theo already unpacked and waiting for them, practically bouncing up and down on his bed as he waited.  
"Dracoooo!" He cheered, jumping up and wrapping his friend in what the Malfoy heir could only describe as a _ferocious_ hug. "I didn't get to say hi properly at dinner, and I didn't see you at the station, got the feeling you were avoiding me?!" He asked, shooting Blaise a hurt puppy look as the Italian rolled his eyes.  
"Yeah, wonder why…" He muttered, before uttering an "oomph!" as Theo Nott threw himself at his other friend, hugging him fiercely as well.  
Draco shot Blaise a smirk as the olive skinned boy struggled to extract himself from Nott's grasp.  
"Well then Nott, now that we're done with… that." Draco began awkwardly, falling back onto his familiar four poster bed with a sigh of delight. "What do you know about the switched student we'll be forced to share with?" Nott shrugged and his bright blue eyes became clouded with confusion.  
"We'll have to share? How on earth did you figure that out Draco?" Malfoy shot the other boy an incredulous look.  
"Theo there's an empty bed, we just had an entire meeting about students coming to other houses and none of the other boys are in a room of three."  
Nott grinned and nodded whilst Blaise chuckled at the entire situation.  
"Oh, wow that makes sense I guess. You're really smart Draco!" Malfoy simply sighed and thumped his head back on the pillow, trying to ignore Zabini's chuckles at their 'adorable' (as he was dubbed by the Slytherin girls, the boys preferred to call him a dolt) roommate.  
It was going to be a long year.

**Well, please tell me what you think, ask me any questions and post any thoughts through reviews - it would be incredibly helpful :) **

**Thankyou ever so much for reading, I shall see you next Saturday!**


	2. Selective schools

**Hello! Thankyou ever so much to the two people who reviewed, I read and loved both your comments, they were unexpected and truly lovely :)  
So, before I post this chapter I would like to give a huge thanks to my wonderful beta - BelovedEnemy83, you're awesome :D **

**OK, so enjoy this chapter, I'll update next week, review or follow if you like it's up to you! **

**Disclaimer - I am blatantly not JK Rowling xD **

**Enjoy, and thankyou ever so much for viewing :) x**

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Thanks to Professor Johnson's "insane" idea, the eighth years had no lessons for all of the next day, as their classes would be determined by whether or not their houses were switched.

Harry and Ron saw this as an opportunity to spend all day playing Quidditch, and had voiced their opinion to Hermione, who had been less than impressed.

"I really don't think I'll be joining you; you know I can barely stay on a broom." She pointed out, much to the two Gryffindor's disappointment.

"Come on Hermione, you're not that bad; I'll just let you ride on the back of my broom." Ron grinned, winking at her playfully, much to Harry's apparent annoyance.

"You play keeper Ron. What's she going to do, sit on your broom while you ram her into the goal posts trying to save? No, she can ride on my broom." He smiled at her sweetly while she looked at them both in confusion.

"I really don't think that will be practical. It's ok, I can just practice Wizard's Chess in the common room." She reassured them. For some reason, however, neither boy was having any of it.

"Alone?! I don't think so 'Mione; this is a dangerous world." Ron said earnestly, throwing his broom down and taking a seat beside her on the armchair, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Hermione laughed and looked up at him incredulously, "Really Ron, I don't think-"

"Don't be ridiculous Ron. I'll play with her; you have an unfair advantage." Harry snapped, cutting Hermione off as he squished himself forcefully into the armchair on her other side.

"Well, then I can teach her to play better!" Ron replied harshly, attempting to shove Harry's arm away from Hermione's side as the brunette struggled between them.

"Look guys, it's really not necessary-" Hermione began, but she was cut off once more by their bickering.

"So what, are you saying she's not good enough?" Harry quipped, standing up and glaring at Ron challengingly.

"I never said that! Why are you trying to turn Hermione against me, Potter?"

"I never said I was, Weasley; what are you accusing me of?" Harry snarled, moving as though to shove Ron in the chest.

Hermione jumped up from her cramped space in between the two.

"STOP!" She cried, and both boys jumped out of their aggressive reverie, turning to look in confusion at the frazzled girl.

"Just stop it, both of you! I'm going to read my book." She snapped, turning on her heel and flouncing up the stairs towards the dormitories.

Ron and Harry looked at one another in bewilderment.

"Why'd you have to provoke her?" Harry spoke eventually, and then the two descended into bickering once more.

'What is with those two?!' Hermione thought furiously as she slammed the door to her room closed and slumped down on her bed.

They'd been acting decidedly odd at The Burrow too, whenever she visited. Ron had been surprisingly accommodating to her every need, and Harry had spent an inordinate amount of time fluttering by her side. She'd almost been glad to return to her cramped London flat after the week was out, relieved to finally be free of their nattering. They hadn't ever really argued like that before, though; it was like they'd become a decade younger over the space of a few weeks. The summer had been a hard time for all, and she'd been greatly looking forward to finally spending some time with her friends instead of her parents. She'd left to find them in Australia just days after the war had ended. Of course, Ron had practically insisted he come with her. After that one impulse kiss, he'd been decidedly protective of her; something Hermione wasn't sure she liked. She'd insisted harder, however, that he remain home with his own family, as she knew this was something she'd have to do alone. It hadn't taken her long to track down her parents, nor had it been particularly difficult to restore their memories.

The difficult part had come after.

Hermione had expected her parents to be overjoyed, confused and concerned once she'd restored their memories and had filled them in on the events of the year. However, Mr. and Mrs. Granger had been anything but; in fact, they'd been furious. She'd tried to explain why she'd done it, but they could barely get past the fact that their little daughter had performed powerful magic on them without permission; in their eyes, she'd violated them. She'd spent several weeks of the summer with her parents (on her suggestion and their insistence,) but it hadn't done anyone any good. Try as she might, she couldn't get through to them, and they couldn't seem to comprehend why she would have ever felt the need to do such a thing.

So, she'd left.

She already had her own apartment in London, and it was none too shabby either; what with the slight cash bonus that came with being part of the Wizarding World's favourite trio. However, none of that changed the fact that her parents had all but disinherited her. All she'd wanted for their last year was a chance to enjoy it with her friends; it seemed as though even _they _were going to let her down.

With a sigh, she did what she always did when she felt confused, sad, lonely or bored; she buried her nose in a book.

**The students anxiously awaited the after dinner announcements, it took a painfully long time for the other years to slowly filter out of the hall, and eventually, their headmistress took to the podium.**

"Alright eighth year students; the moment you've all been waiting for!" Professor Johnson began excitedly, unrolling a scroll of parchment from her robes and moving to read from it.

Draco glanced anxiously at his best friend, who appeared to be incredibly calm for such a damning situation. Draco had planned to skate through his last year of Hogwarts, avoiding awkward questions and trying his best to achieve qualifications that would get him a successful job out of the spotlight. His summer had been the worst one in his living memory; his father had, of course, been arrested and placed into Azkaban. For all Draco cared though, he could have been given the kiss a month ago and the boy wouldn't mind.

His main worry was his mother; she'd been stripped of all of her status amongst the community and her venomous husband. For some unfathomable reason, she still loved the twisted man and pined after him pathetically. It broke Draco's heart to see his mother loose herself to his awful excuse for a father, but he'd long ago realized there was little he could do to help her. She spent her days wandering around the mansion in her mourning clothes, as though his father had died instead of just being imprisoned for his indescribable crimes against humanity. It was for that reason that Draco had spent the majority of his summer at Blaise's home in Italy, along with his friend's mother.

**Professor Johnson's voice brought Draco out of his reverie,** "First, our representatives from the Slytherin house. We have Daphne Greengrass, and Malcolm Finch going to Gryffindor house!" The Headmistress called.

The students began a half-hearted round of applause as a beautiful blonde girl at the Slytherin table put her head in her hands and sobbed; Finch just looked as though he was going to be sick.

Professor Johnson continued on, "We then have Gregory Goyle and Mallory Rosier going to Ravenclaw house!"

Draco and Blaise had to stifle their laughter as Goyle looked up dumbly from his empty plate like a dog sniffing the air.

"Goyle in Ravenclaw?!" Draco snorted under his breath as Professor Johnson continued.

"And finally from Slytherin," Draco tensed as he prayed for himself; not Hufflepuff!

"Zoe Accrington and Miles Blishwick joining the Hufflepuff house!"

Draco relaxed noticeably, and barely paid attention as the other names were announced, only noting that Sue Li and Stephen Cornfoot were joining their house from Ravenclaw, and that Hannah Abbott and, unfortunately, Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff.

He looked up when the Gryffindor's were announced. He was hoping Potter and the Weasel would be moved from their precious house.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Hermione was barely paying any attention up until that point. She'd looked duly disappointed when the Slytherins joining their house were announced, but apart from that, she'd generally ignored the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw announcements, deeming it nothing much to do with her.

If anything, in regards to the Slytherins, she was merely pleased that Malfoy hadn't been transferred to their house, the insufferable git.

Of course, Daphne Greengrass was bad enough; the girl barely had enough personality to fill a teaspoon, and her younger sister whom Malfoy had been reportedly dating, was just as bad. However, Hermione was nothing if not generous, deciding to give Daphne the second chance she really didn't deserve. However, her interest piqued when Angelina began announcing the Gryffindors to be moved.

"Moving to Hufflepuff," She began, and though they always preached equality and general pleasantry, she noticed both Harry and Ron cross their fingers.

'Ridiculous gits.' Hermione thought, thinking they'd be lucky to spend a year in a house of such lovely people.

"Neville Longbottom and Lavender Brown!" The houses clapped dutifully as Neville smiled nervously towards a few of his friends in the other house, and Lavender looked a little distraught.

"Next up, Ravenclaw!" Angelina began, and it seemed once again Harry and Ron had something to say about the matter.

"Gosh, it would be awful to move to those clever snobs don't you think?" Ron asked Hermione, grinning slightly as she rolled her eyes.

Harry shrugged, "I just don't want us to be apart for our last year at school." He said honestly, and Hermione smiled at him and nodded.

"I know just how you feel, Harry."

"Parvati Patil and Robin Wales." Professor Johnson announced.

Harry shrugged at this announcement; they'd never really liked Wales much.

Hermione giggled slightly, finding it amusing that the Patil twins appeared to be swapping houses for the year.

"And finally, the two students going to Slytherin are,"

Ron rolled his eyes and Hermione noticed him relax a little.

"There's no way any of us will get picked. Apart from anything else, the staff knows what it's like between us and them; we're the Golden Trio."

Hermione slapped his arm playfully, but felt herself relax a little too.

"You're not supposed to call us that yourself, Ron." She chided, before turning to Harry and slapping him for good measure.

"And don't even think of going off on another 'chosen one' rant Harry Potter; we all know you're special." She teased, barely listening as Dean's name was called out.

**Over at the Slytherin table, they were all very anxious to find out which of the goody-goody Gryffindors were going to be 'honorary' Slytherins for the year.**

"Here we go," Blaise muttered, nudging a distracted Draco as Johnson began to read out the two Gryffindors who would be joining their house.

"Dean Thomas," She paused, and Blaise barely reacted.

"Do we even know who that is?" He chuckled to Draco who just shrugged, losing interest already. Blaise then nudged his friend once more, "Oh, shut up; she's going to announce the unlucky girl who'll be joining Pansy's lot." Draco was about to complain about the fact that he hadn't even been talking, but he was shocked out of his whining when the final student was announced.

"And Hermione Granger."

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**Ohhhh plot twist! Well not really, I'm sure most of you saw it coming xD **

**Oh well, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and will re-appear next week to read more! It would really be lovely :) x**


	3. Ginny wants jealousy

**Hello again! Updating a little earlier than usual as I'm having a little Eurovision get together tonight! :D  
Hope any of you tuning in enjoy the show, and also hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**As I'm updating a little early and on such short notice, my beta wasn't able to get this chapter back to me, so I apologise for any mistakes made. **

**Disclaimer: Nope, not JK Rowling. **

**Please enjoy, and maybe review? I have 4 reviews now and every time I get a new one it really just makes my day :) x**

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Chapter Two

All conversation in the hall stopped. The mindless chatters of students and nervous whispers of those chosen to switch were hushed with those three words.

Well, all conversations but one.

"Oh goodness everyone's gone a bit quiet," Hermione lowered her voice to a whisper, turning to face Ron to enquire why the hall had suddenly gone silent, and noticed that both her friends appeared to be in a slight state of shock.

"Harry? Ron?!" She asked, still confused as to why no one seemed to be responding. Maybe it was about the final student to be switched; she hoped it wasn't one of their friends.

"Who was it, who got chosen?" She asked quietly, looking to both her friends for an answer of some sort.

Harry blinked, looking a little dazed as he awoke from a reverie.

"Well Hermione, it was you." He said, stuttering a little as he ruffled his hair nervously.

Hermione's jaw dropped as the realisation hit her.  
"WHAT?!" She cried out, causing Professor Johnson who'd begun talking about arrangements for the year to falter slightly and side eye her nervously.  
A few people snickered, and Hermione blushed bright pink and lowered her voice once more, glaring at her two bet friends.

"What on earth are you talking about?! I can't have been chosen!" She hissed, and Ron's frown deepened.

"I know Mione; it's awful, but maybe keep your voice down a little?"

She shot him a murderous glance and turned her back on the both of them, crossing her arms huffily and deciding to ignore them for the remainder of the evening.

"Jesus, Granger? She'll have fun with our lot then." Blaise grinned, winking at Daphne Greengrass across the table, who promptly began to sob.

"Oh… forgot she was switched… sorry?" The Italian added awkwardly as Theo rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh, before wrapping an arm comfortingly around Daphne's shoulders.

"Hey, it's ok Daph, you can always come and visit, I won't tell." He said softly, winking at Blaise and gesturing rudely with his fingers behind the crying girl's back.

"How the hell does someone like Theo fool all the girls into liking him?!" Blaise muttered, sneering nastily at Nott as he began to mime thrusting against a still completely oblivious Daphne.  
Draco chuckled half-heartedly, but couldn't help but wonder about other things…

"What's up with you? You've been pretty quiet since Granger was picked to be switched, don't worry mate, I'm sure it will be easy to ignore her." Blaise gave what he hoped was reassuring advice and Draco nodded in agreement, but he couldn't help but wish slightly that she _wouldn't_ be easy to avoid.

He shook his head suddenly, trying to divert his thoughts away from the danger zone; he knew he should never think of her like that, not even in his dreams.  
He'd been hoping to forget all about the girl with the crazy hair this year, but it seemed that the fates wouldn't allow it.  
His mind wondered to their brief encounters over the last few years, and he couldn't stop a small part of him wishing her hadn't been quite so hateful towards her, after all they'd all since realised that their prejudices had only been holding them back.  
But he knew it wasn't just that, he felt a strange sense of loss, of wasted time whenever he looked at her, it was indescribable, incomprehensible.  
It made him uncomfortable.  
He looked over at his friends as the thoughts buzzed around his head.  
Blaise and Theo were both incredibly good looking, in fact the three of them were notorious for being good with women (in spite of Theo having the mental age of a 5 year old, he really didn't know how the kid still managed to get girls into bed with him) and made a decision.  
He and Blaise had been best friends since childhood, their mothers had known each other (before their falling out) and had been close friends, and he and Theo had been friends since the small, grinning boy had sat next to him at their first meal in Hogwarts and asked if he also liked pumpkin juice on his ice cream.  
He could trust them with anything.

"Um, Blaise?" He began, but Blaise was already incredibly distracted.

"Daphne I know darling, it was mortifyingly childish." He said soothingly, pulling the distraught girl into his lap and giving a rather sulky looking Nott the middle finger.  
In response, Nott stuck out his tongue and began angrily taking out his irritation on the table, bashing it with his fist as Blaise smirked.  
Draco smiled slightly, deciding not to bother his two friends with their apparently endless conquest to, well conquest each girl in the Slytherin house.  
His problems could wait.

"Hermione come on, you know we didn't mean to." Ron whined, jogging a little to keep up with her fast paced walk back to Gryffindor Tower.

She completely ignored him, and her other idiotic friend who kept trying to put his arm round her shoulders and apologise for the millionth time.  
Eventually when she paused at the portrait hole to attempt to remember the password, Ron and Harry caught up, forming a barricade preventing her from entering the common room.

"Look, Hermione, we know you're upset and we really didn't mean to undermine that. You know how Ron and I are, we're complete idiots." Harry said earnestly, and Hermione cracked the tiniest of smiles and lowered her hands from her hips.

"You are idiots." She muttered, but smiled wider and nodded, accepting their apology.

Ron grinned, looking remarkably relieved.  
"Thank goodness, we are sorry Hermione, and you have to know how upset I am, I'll miss you so much." He said softly, wrapping her in a hug whilst the fat lady wolf whistled.

Harry shot the painting a dirty look and stepped in.  
"Yes, of course I'll miss you too, possibly even more if you think about it." He intruded, moving Ron away slightly as he too hugged Hermione.

She rolled her eyes, here they went again with the strange behaviour, maybe this time they actually _would_ strangle her.

"Ok guys, thanks a lot." She intervened before they could begin their nonsensical bickering once more, and finally remembered the password.  
As she stepped into the common room, a hush fell over the usual commotion that ensued whenever anyone entered.  
She tried to avoid the very obvious gazes from nearly everyone in the room, and quickly deduced that if anyone in their house had not known she was to be switched – they certainly did now.

"Hermione!" One person seemed extremely pleased to see her, she looked around anxiously, and was surprised to see Dean Thomas extracting himself from Ginny and waving her over.

Seemingly realising it was ok to talk, the tension reduced itself once more and the common room slowly began to pick up its usual buzz of chatter and general noise.  
She made her way over to them, still completely confused as to how they were now back together.

"Hi Dean, can I help you?" She asked awkwardly as he once again pulled away from Ginny, who in the few seconds it had taken for Hermione to join them had re-attached herself to Dean's mouth.

She tried to ignore the fact that Ginny was sitting in his lap, her long lean legs very obviously rubbing against his.

Hermione pointedly looked away and smiled awkwardly at the couple.  
Dean, noticing her discomfort blushed slightly and extracted himself from his girlfriend, moving to shake Hermione's hand.  
She looked at him in confusion.

"Although you just shouting my name across the common room seemed to imply you know who I am, I want to assure you that we have in fact met before Dean." She said, raising and eyebrow as he blushed once more, timidly moving his hand back to his hair.

"Yes, well, I was just offering up my… friendship of sorts, as it turns out we'll both be staying in Slytherin for the next year!" Hermione nodded in understanding, she had been wondering who the other Gryffindor was that would be joining her in her move to Slytherin.

"Well good luck to you both." Ginny said hurriedly, her eyes flicking to Harry and Ron who had just entered the common room after apparently bickering outside.

She grabbed Dean, quickly sliding her legs over his, rubbing them up and down his thigh as she engaged in what could only be described as a "make out session".

Hermione barely had time to register before they were both moaning into each other's mouths, while Ginny not-so-inconspicuously watched for Harry's reaction.  
While all of Hermione's instincts told her to walk away – and fast, she knew something was up, and so reverted to her slightly meddlesome self, and cleared her throat loudly.  
She could see Harry scowling in one corner of the room, and deciding she'd better not let things go too far, she tugged Ginny none too lightly on the shoulder until the red head broke away from her boyfriend.

"Can we help you?" She asked icily, glancing once more in Harry's direction.

Hermione placed her hands on her hips and shot Ginny a dangerous look, before curtly replying;  
"Dean, do you think you could give me and Ginny a minute to talk?"

Dean didn't seem to be in control of his speech at that moment, so he merely nodded dumbly and quickly hurried up to the boy's dormitories. Hermione didn't really think about what he was going to do, instead she focused her attention on a decidedly irritated Ginny.

"What on earth was that about?!" Hermione hissed, glaring down at Ginny as the younger girl rolled her eyes.

"What am I not allowed to kiss my boyfriend now?" She snapped, and Hermione crossed her arms moodily.

"Well, now that you mention it, it is actually. As Head girl of the eighth year, I can inform you that public displays of affection are strictly prohibited. But that's beside the point Ginny and you know it." Ginny raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"They made you head of the eighth year? That's great Hermione! We all knew you'd get to be Head Girl in Seventh, so sad you missed out."

"Well thank you," Hermione blushed, "And yes the staff thought that seeing as everyone in the eighth year is now technically an adult, we needed different rules and monitoring than the other years, so a head boy and girl were elected. I was honestly rather surprised when Zabini made Head boy, but I suppose he is an excellent student." Hermione mused, then scowled when she realised the younger girl's plan.

"Nice try Gin, but don't think I'm forgetting about this. What happened to you and Harry?!" She pressed until Ginny sighed and patted the seat next to her on the sofa.  
Hermione accepted it and looked at her friend expectantly.

"Well, in the summer while you were in Australia Harry and I decided to take a break, it was his idea actually, see other people, see how we felt after the drama of the war etc.  
We got back together a few weeks later,"  
Hermione nodded.

"Yes I know, you were together when I first came to The Burrow."

"Exactly. Well, just after you'd returned to London I think, he found out that while we were on our break for a few weeks I'd been seeing other people." Ginny gave Hermione an expectant look, but the brunette just shrugged.

"So? You went on a few dates, I know for a fact that Harry…" She trailed off when she saw Ginny's expression.

"Ohh…_ that_ kind of seeing." Hermione said, understanding.  
Ginny blushed but nodded.

"Yes, well it turns out he hadn't been… 'Seeing' people, and he was rather upset about it. He broke it off."

Hermione let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, and nodded slowly.

"Wow… so now you're with Dean to make him jealous I'm guessing?"

Ginny blushed deeper, you could barely see her freckles.  
"Yes, I suppose. I mean don't get me wrong, it's certainly satisfying," Hermione cringed, "But there just aren't any feelings there anymore, well on my side anyway. I suppose in the long run, he might be upset about me using him, but in all honesty I've definitely been giving him a lot of benefits,"

Hermione held up a hand and winced.  
"Yes, ok Gin I think I get the idea."

Still blushing profusely, Ginny stood and awkwardly gestured towards the girl's dormitories.

"Well, I'm going to get ready for the leavers bash tonight, good luck by the way Hermione." She said a little sadly, wrapping her friend in a hug before dashing up the stairs.

Hermione sat back, her mind still whirring from the (slightly too suggestive) information Ginny had given her.

"Glad I'm not involved in _that_ one." She mumbled, standing up and heading after her friend to get ready for their farewell party.

* * *

**Thankyou for reading folks! I'm really excited for you guys to read the next chapter, there's quite a lot of action xD **

**Review with any ideas of what may be about to happen - I'd love you hear your theories ;)**


	4. Boys will be knobs

**Hello there! I have a few notices I'd be very grateful if you read :) **

**1. With regards to a review I received, to clear up any questions - Nott didn't realize about the extra bed because 1. I am portraying him in a rather silly manner 2. The students don't go to their dormitories before the feast, so he hadn't seen.  
I really thought that was fairly obvious. **

**2. This chapter is a little... action filled shall we say. You may think it OOC or whatever, but I do assure you there are valid reasons for each character's behaviour (regarding the boys, you'll see... ;) ) and I shall explain them at a later time. If I get any reviews insulting me for my writing regarding this, I shall ignore them. **

**3. I have several exams coming up, and my stress levels are pretty bad too so I apologise if the next chapter is delayed (it shouldn't be, just a warning as I am feeling very un-motivated lately due to my fear of impending failure) **

**Anyway, on with the chapter! **

**As usual thanks to my truly wonderful beta for making this acceptable for viewing xD**

* * *

**Chapter four. **

Blaise slapped on a little cologne that Draco happened to know one of his several partners had bought him in Italy, and admired himself for a few minutes in their shared mirror.

Draco tried to hold back from rolling his eyes, and turned to see Theo spraying enough Muggle body spray to drown a Hippogriff.

"Good Godric, Nott!" Draco choked, fanning the air as he bust open a window. "What are you trying to do, attract a troll?!"

The small boy frowned, looking incredibly hurt and dropped the can as though it had electrocuted him.

"Is it really too much? When we were in America people used it in abundance; I thought you were supposed to?"

Draco took one look at the hurt puppy expression his roommate was currently sporting, and his scathing retort died in his throat; they all had a soft spot for Theo.

"No, no I was kidding; it's great, really." He smiled, and the other boy immediately cheered up once more, moving to shove Blaise away from the mirror.

"Great, I'm hoping this will impress Daphne tonight." He grinned, messing with his short, golden-blonde hair and pouting at his reflection.

Draco had to choke back a laugh.

Blaise smirked slightly, and shoved his friend back, "Well good luck with that; she really did seem pretty upset with you today at dinner. Don't forget though, not many women can resist the Italian Stallion."

At this, Draco burst out laughing, no longer able to pretend he didn't find his two friends preening themselves like peacocks entertaining. Theo shot him a confused glance and Blaise shot him a sneer, but they continued to talk.

"Yes well, Zabini my friend, you are forgetting one variable that happens to be in my favor." Theo said dramatically, heading for the door of their room as Blaise took over the confused look.

"And ,what would that be?" He asked suspiciously.

Theo grinned and winked, "Firewhiskey." He said, before skipping out the door and leaving Blaise and Draco to catch up.

Draco grabbed his jacket and had to laugh once more at Blaise's incredibly annoyed glare, "He's not wrong, you know."

"I know." Zabini scowled.

Hermione had been forced (once again) into Ginny's dorm room to be re-dressed.

This had become almost a routine; Hermione would put on some shorts and a baggy T-shirt, begin making her way down to the common room, only to be body snatched by the youngest Weasley.

"Oh, for goodness sake Hermione, do you not know how to dress yourself?" Ginny tutted, dragging her friend over to her wardrobe.

"Oh, so I'm wearing your clothes tonight then?" Hermione asked dully.

Normally Ginny would then forcibly take her back upstairs and choose something better from her own closet, but today the red head nodded and began rooting through her clothes.

"Alright, we're the same dress size but you have bigger boobs than me, obviously, and completely different coloring." Ginny muttered and Hermione flushed.

Her friend poked her head out of the wardrobe and pointed an accusing finger at the brunette.

"I knew you'd blush Hermione Granger; are you really that embarrassed by the word boobs? Honestly." Ginny rolled her eyes and went back to her clothes as Hermione stuttered for a reply.

After a few seconds more of searching, Ginny appeared triumphant, and threw several garments at her friend.

"I've gone for a green, soft jersey dress. It's a little snug but that's the design. Just a little classier than your… T-shirt; I'm wearing a pretty crop top and jeans." Ginny explained as Hermione looked at her in confusion.

"You have jeans? Ginny. you're a pureblood."

Ginny rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, adopting her Molly Weasley pose, "Hermione I recently received a large amount of money due to compensation for being a war hero. I spent a lot of my summer out on the town and I went on several holidays . Do you honestly think I was wearing stuffy, wizard robes the entire time?"

Hermione shrugged awkwardly as she made her way over to Ginny's bed and began to change. The realization hit her very suddenly of just how much she'd missed over the summer, and how little she really understood about her friends and their situations.

Once she was finished changing, she realized that the dress really left very little to the imagination. It came down to her lower thighs (Thankfully; she knew Ginny tended to favor clothes that showed off her long legs) and the soft green fabric clung to her form with a slightly lower neckline than she may have picked out.

She looked at herself speculatively in the mirror and chuckled as Ginny rolled her eyes.

"You have curves Hermione; be proud and show them off for goodness sake." She teased, shoving Hermione playfully out of the way of the mirror as she went to check her hair.

"You can wear my old denim jacket as well if you must; I know you like to cover up."

"Gin, you look great, as always. Let's just go and get this over with. I have a feeling this will be more of a sad occasion than a fun one." Hermione sighed, accepting the jacket gratefully (although it would probably be boiling in the common room) and Ginny grabbed her hand and grinned.

"Don't be such a pessimist Hermione! you never know, it might actually not be dreadful."

Ginny was once again practically dragging her friend around by the time they got back to the common room. They were around forty minutes late (Ginny believed that was absolutely imperative if one wanted to make an entrance, although Hermione rarely wanted to make an entrance.) and so the party was already in full swing.

It had started at around eight thirty, so luckily all of the much younger years had cleared out to their respective dormitories for the night. As usual there was most of Seventh and Sixth year present, several Fifth years, and a few particularly loud and confident Fourth years were mingling in the common room. Someone had charmed the fireplace to play music, and the flames were lazily changing color as the beat and track changed.

Hermione barely had time to admire the magic before Ginny was dragging her off to talk to someone or another.

"Hermione! Wow, I hope you'll do alright in Slytherin," Lavender Brown was almost shouting over the loud music. "It's really awful that we can't spend our last year here in our house, right?"

Hermione slowly remembered that Lavender had been switched to Hufflepuff along with Neville. It had actually taken her a minute to recognize the girl, of course; Lavender had been attacked during the Battle by the werewolf, Greyback. However, the scarring to her neck wasn't the only change. She seemed somehow so much more mature than the last time Hermione had spoken to her, and she couldn't quite decide whether she was relieved or a little sad.

"Yeah I know; it's really awful!" Hermione replied, and was just about to ask about the girl's summer when Ginny grabbed her arm and tugged her on.

"Hermione this is your last night in Gryffindor house and practically everyone has turned up for your leaving party; you can't spend the whole time talking to Lavender Brown." She snapped, and Hermione didn't have the energy to argue.

"'Mione? Is that you?!" She spun around and grinned when she spotted Ron and Harry heading their way.

She felt Ginny tense beside her, but ignored it, instead wrapping Ron in a relieved hug. In all honesty, she would much rather spend the whole evening talking to her friends or other switched students like Lavender, instead of making small talk.

"Ron, Harry, thank God: I was already bored!" Hermione laughed before quickly realizing that neither of her male friends were paying any attention to what she was saying.

Ron was rather blatantly staring at her chest, and Harry was giving Ginny a stare so murderous Hermione was surprised the girl hadn't burst into tears.

"Let's try that again shall we Ronald?" Hermione said crisply, moving the jacket over her body and glaring up at him.

He blushed a furious shade of red and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm really sorry 'Mione; it's just-you look-well, you-" Ron stuttered, and Harry interrupted, still glaring at Ginny.

"I think what Ron means to say, and what we're all thinking, is Hermione, you look fucking gorgeous."

Ginny's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, Ron looked aghast, and Hermione was a little taken aback; Harry didn't usually swear.

"Well, um, thank you Harry." She said timidly, looking from Ginny to Harry nervously, hoping they wouldn't begin to duel in the middle of the common room.

At that moment, Dean Thomas appeared and, if it was even possible, made the situation even more awkward.

"Hey babe," He said, pecking Ginny tamely on the cheek before turning to greet the rest of them. "Ron, Harry, Hermione-whoa." His eyes widened as he took in her appearance.

She blushed again; she hadn't anticipated that her dressing up a little would constitute such a reaction. It was honestly a little embarrassing.

"Hi." She said awkwardly as Ginny shot daggers at her. she was reminded of the Yule Ball, and really hoped tonight wouldn't end up in a shouting match and her in tears.

"Well, it was great to see you guys. Dean, let's find a corner." Ginny said hastily, grabbing her boyfriend and marching off through the crowd.

Hermione turned back to see both boys glaring after the happy couple, undoubtedly for different reasons.

"You know what," she said, quickly making a decision, "I'm just going to…" She trailed off and made her exit, hoping to find someone else to distract her.

"Hermione, wait!" Harry cried, grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face him.

She could see him watching Ginny out of the corner of his eye, and she sighed and tried to tug her arm free; she wasn't going to get caught up in their feud.

"Harry, you don't have to explain it to me; I know what you're going through and-"

"I'm in love with you!" He spluttered, grabbing hold of her and pulling her into him.

He kissed her passionately for an uncomfortably long time and with really too much

tongue. Hermione was vaguely aware of the music stopping and someone shouting before she was finally relinquished from the incredibly odd embrace.

"What the hell was that?!" She turned to see Ron staring incredulously at the pair of them.

Harry realized he now had the attention of the entire common room as the music had stopped and everyone had turned to stare at the scene unfolding.

"I love her; Hermione, I love you." He repeated and several people gasped.

"Well, hold on just a second; I love her." Ron snapped, moving towards a still completely stunned Hermione. "Hermione, I've loved you ever since we met; and that night we spent after the war ended..." Ron trailed off as several whistles sounded around the room and Hermione flushed bright red, wishing for nothing more than the floor to swallow her up.

"I knew-I just knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I was going to wait for the perfect moment," Ron continued, pausing to shoot an accusatory look at Harry. "But, I suppose this will have to do."

He began to get down on one knee, and the whole room erupted in cheers, whoops and whistles.

Hermione, still flushed bright red, was shaking her head desperately.

"No; oh God Ron, no." She murmured to him quietly, but as usual, he wasn't listening.

He pulled out a small black box and offered her a small, beautiful ring, "Hermione Jean Granger, will you-"

"Hermione, marry me!" Harry spluttered, stepping in front of his kneeling friend and clasping her hand in his, "We've been best friends since I don't even remember and I love you with all my heart."

"Oh my God; no, no." Hermione hissed, but Ron was taking the floor once again.

"Excuse me, mate, but do you think you could maybe back the fuck off?" He snapped, shoving Harry away from Hermione and knocking his glasses askew.

"Well, it seems I was actually here first Ron. I kissed her and all, so maybe you should be the one backing the fuck off!" Harry snarled, shoving Ron back a little harder as he straightened his glasses.

"Oh, I think we both know I liked her first." Ron shot back.

"I've loved her for years!" Harry cried, completely ignoring the aghast redheaded girl who gasped at this statement.

"Well, sorry if you've been wanking over her for a few months; we both know I actually shagged her first." Ron sneered crudely, and Hermione felt as though she could scream, her face flushing an even darker red.

"Oh, really; you sure about that?" Harry smirked, winking at Hermione and looking her up and down incredibly suggestively.

At this, both Hermione and Ginny cried out; Hermione was completely flabbergasted. She and Harry had never even kissed up until that night, and he jolly well knew it! She spun around in time to see Ginny run up the stairs to her dormitory, very obviously crying. She was just about to follow when every gasp, titter and comment was drowned out by Ron's voice.

"How fucking could you!?" He bellowed, launching himself at Harry and going for his throat.

Both boys fell to the floor, attacking every scrap of flesh they could get their hands on. A chant started up and several girls screamed as they threw punches, clawing at one another.

"STOP!" Hermione screamed, but her voice was drowned out by the cries of other students. She went for her wand and cast a quick incantation, shaking with rage as she did so.

"STOP RIGHT NOW!" She shouted, her voice booming over everyone else's in the common room. She thanked Godric that they'd cast a silencing charm on the common room before the party started.

The room went quiet, and Harry and Ron got sheepishly to their feet.

Ron's lip was split, Harry's glasses were broken, and he was sporting a brutal looking black eye.

"So this is what you resort to after a ridiculous kiss and a few stupid crude comments? You brawl like drunk muggles?!" Hermione screeched, lowering her wand so her voice wasn't quite as deafening.

Ron grinned nervously and Harry rubbed the back of his neck.

"What have you got to say for yourselves?!" She seethed, deciding to chide them both later for their incredibly inappropriate and public comments regarding her sex life.

"Choose." Ron said bluntly, and Harry nodded stoically, "You've had two proposals, so choose."

Hermione felt herself reach a state of absolute fury so intense that for a moment she couldn't speak.

Choose?! That was what they had to say for themselves after they'd been rude, cruel, ignorant, and stupid and had essentially verbally harassed her in front of all her peers?

Not even an apology – just choose.

"Oh, I'll fucking choose all right." She spat, apoplectic as she made her way towards them, her mind buzzing with spells as she thought of her wand sitting temptingly in her pocket.

She whipped it out, casting one of her personal favorites, and a small flock of vicious yellow canaries began dive-bombing the two boys. She continued to march straight past them, ignoring their cries as she stalked up the stairs and into her dormitory. She was out again with her trunk before the door had even slammed shut, and practically ran down the stairs as the birds vanished.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ron spluttered, reaching for her as she reached the portrait hole, but she whipped her hand away and brandished her wand.

"What does it look like, Ronald? I'm leaving!" She snapped, kicking open the portrait hole and ignoring the Fat Lady's complaints as she chucked her trunk out and moved to follow it.

"You know you're not supposed to move in until tomorrow, and then you go to class with them on Monday." Harry explained, looking at her earnestly as she tried to hold back tears.

"Well do you honestly think I'd want to spend another second with either of you after the performance you've made here tonight?! You've undermined, embarrassed and ridiculed me in front of all of my friends. You have publicly divulged information I certainly didn't intend to share, and you've once again acted like complete dolts and ended up fighting like stupid drunkards! I shall be incredibly happy if I don't have to spend another minute with either of you this year!" She cried, trying to pretend she wasn't sobbing as she glared at the pair of them.

When she realized that neither of them were going to reply, she turned on her heel and climbed through the portrait hole.

"Hermione, please wait!" Ron cried, and he and Harry followed her out. She turned around, wondering what more of an explanation they could possibly want.

She tried to ignore the several dozen heads that had also poked through the portrait to see what was going on.

"What?" She hissed.

"Well, it's just you never chose." Harry said sheepishly.

At that, Hermione lost the last molecule of control she'd had on her temper.

"My CHOICE?! Oh, I wasn't aware I was allowed a choice Harry bloody Potter, as you and Ron seem to think I need one of you to choose _for _me. Well, you know what? I choose neither!"

They looked taken aback, as did the fifty-odd Gryffindors and several portraits that happened to be listening.

"You're both awful, selfish, ridiculous and honestly bloody fucking pathetic boys, and I would rather be alone for the rest of my entire life than marry either of you!" She shrieked.

And with that, Hermione Granger left.

Making a scene to rival that of the Yule Ball.

* * *

**Well. I did tell you there was drama ;) **

**A review would be very much appreciated, in fact it may spur on my motivation a little so it's always appreciated :) thank you ever so much, and also I think I might go back and change some chapter names - they seem a little dull xD**


	5. More Slytherin than you think

**Wow hello! Let me just say I'm incredibly please with the amount of reception this story has received - last I checked 60 followers! And while there's only a few reviews, I love each and every one of them. **

**A few notices: **

**1. Early update, this is because I'll be babysitting tomorrow and figured; better early than late :D **

**2. As of now, I will be asking YOU to come up with and put forward chapter names (seeing as I'm terrible at them XD) SO please drop a review with your suggestion once you've finished this chapter, and I'll pick the winner, rename this chapter and give you a special mention! :) **

**3. (Little chat - you don't have to read this ;) ) I just finished reading The Lovely Bones and We Need to Talk About Kevin this week, two incredile modern classics that really suprised and haunted me. Also, THE SPN FINALE OH GOD (sobs) the MPGIS finale (cries) and the Hannibal finale tonight! (NOOOO) not a good week for fandoms :( **

**Sorry hehe, just thought I'd chat a little ;) **

**Anyways, you'll notice both Blaise and Pansy becoming more major characters as they'll be very important to the plotline in the future... (plus I just love writing them!) **

**Enjoy! **

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Chapter 5

As Hermione stalked down the hall fighting tears and tugging her trunk behind her, it occurred to her (once her rage had dissipated somewhat) that she really had no idea what to do. She was supposed to be spending her last night in Gryffindor with her friends and would then move into her new house tomorrow morning. She stopped in the middle of the hallway, thankful that eighth years had a much later curfew, as she really didn't want to add detention to her long list of problems. She plonked her trunk down and sat on it miserably, toying with her glowing wand as she considered her options.

She whittled it down to two.

She could go back to the Gryffindor common room with her tail between her legs, attempt to talk some sense into Harry and Ron and struggle with Ginny who probably never wanted to see her ever again; not to mention deal with the fact that a great deal of Gryffindor house now knew about her sex life. She shuddered at the mere idea and, filled with a new sense of determination, she got to her feet and resolutely grabbed her trunk. There was only one thing to do really; the only _logical _option.

She would just have to become a Slytherin.

X X X

It was almost ten and the party in the Slytherin common room was in full swing.

Draco shot up a hand and deftly caught a bottle of what smelt a little like Dragon's Breath Brew that Blaise had thrown from across the room. He nodded his thanks briefly to his friend, who was currently struggling to try and talk to an extremely drunk Daphne Greengrass, and turned back to the rather amiable sixth year who was on his lap.

"How old are you again?" he asked suspiciously when she reached for the bottle he'd just taken a swig from, but she merely rolled her eyes and took it from him.

"Since when did that ever bother you before Draco?" She teased, taking a few sips before passing it back to him.

She was a rather pretty little thing with long golden hair, pink bow lips and wide blue eyes. She reminded him a little of a china doll.

"And who's this?" Blaise asked cheerfully, sitting down next to Draco. Apparently he'd given up on the elder Greengrass who was now sticking her tongue down Nott's throat.

Draco shot an awkward glance at the pretty blonde girl in his lap, who tutted and got up irritably.

"Astoria Greengrass; we snogged in the broom cupboard by the room of requirement all through last year?" She snapped, and when his face showed no sign of recollection, she glared at him furiously, before grabbing the bottle from his hands and marching off.

"Wow." Draco muttered, blinking slightly in surprise as she stalked away.

"I know; how can you not remember Astoria Greengrass?!" Blaise feigned shock.

Draco punched his friend's shoulder lightly, but smirked just the same. Of course he hadn't forgotten her; he just hadn't found her particularly interesting.

"Where's Pansy by the way? I thought you said she was going to grace us with her appearance tonight?" Blaise shuffled uncomfortably and looked away.

"I don't know that she will. A few people made some… remarks the other day when she went to the library, she was pretty cut up about it."

"Cut up…" Draco couldn't help himself, and snorted slightly which earned him a slightly painful whack on the arm from his friend.

"All right, poor choice of words." Blaise muttered before grabbing Draco another drink and beckoning to a seventh year who'd been vying for his attention. "Still, I don't see that as a reason not to have fun." He winked, beaming charmingly at the girl as she giggled sweetly.

Draco still felt a little uneasy, going back to things as though the past year hadn't happened. But, he supposed Blaise was right; he owed himself at least one night.

X X X

"I can do this." Hermione muttered to herself, throwing her long hair back, straightening her spine, and pushing open the door to the dungeons.

Whoever the Slytherins had been expecting to walk through the dungeon's door, it certainly wasn't Hermione Granger.

As if a switch had been flipped, the celebrations stopped and all eyes turned to the slightly haggard looking girl, who now stood in the doorway to the Slytherin common room, trunk in hand.

"Salazar above…" Blaise muttered, and Draco had to agree, as did most of the other students in the room.

Despite her decidedly ruffled look, even the most prejudiced of Slytherins had to admit that she looked especially good.

Hermione's bottom lip trembled slightly, but she pushed back her hair and raised her chin defiantly.

"Good evening; I trust my bed's ready?" She grabbed up her trunk and began to march confidently across the room, trying to ignore what felt like millions of gazes watching her as she went.

She could feel her cool exterior slipping as she tried desperately to appear calm, almost trampling several people as she made her way towards the dormitories; she muttered apologies repeatedly as she did so.

Every single person in the room watched in silence as the Gryffindor Princess eventually made it to the door leading to the dorms; she turned and nodded awkwardly before opening the door and leaving them in peace.

Once on the other side of the common room, Hermione leaned against the wall and breathed a long sigh of relief, the tension flooding from her body and making her want to cry once again. She stood for several minutes, trying to get her breath and not burst into tears in the middle of the corridor, reliving the few awkward moments she'd spent desperately trying to escape the gaze of her fellow Slytherins. She almost cringed at that thought, but she decided she should really get used to the idea; she was a Slytherin now, and would be for the entire year. Would every day be that way? Would she have to endure their gazes every time she walked into a room? Hermione's mind began whirling and spiraling in confusion and fear, and she completely forgot what she was supposed to be doing as the music resumed next door and the sound began to envelope her.

Being so distracted with her thoughts, she didn't hear the small, confused girl who crept into the hallway and watched her with a slight smirk on her lips.

"Are you just going to stand there all night Granger, or are you just gonna come inside your damned room now?"

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin, opening her eyes as she nearly tripped over her case in her haste to regain her composure.

The beautiful dark haired Slytherin before her sniggered, but grabbed Hermione's trunk before it hit the floor and gestured towards the open door from which she'd come.

"I believe we're roomies now," she winked, "So if you want to come with me I'll show you your bed; no questions asked about the whole early arrival thing."

Hermione had still not regained control of her speech, so she merely nodded and blinked before eventually choking out, "Pansy?!"

The shorter girl rolled her eyes, sighed, and gestured once more for Hermione to enter their dorm room. the former Gryffindor quickly complied.

Hermione entered the room that looked startlingly similar to all the Gryffindor dormitories, except the fabric and trimmings were silver and green, and there were only three beds.

"Three beds?" Hermione asked stupidly, still a little shell shocked at the events of that evening, though Pansy didn't seem to mind. She nodded and closed the door, making her way past Hermione and laid back on her bed, oddly at ease with the other girl's presence.

"Yup, there _were _four of us, but after the summer, Professor Dingbat thought I'd be better off with one 'special friend'." She snorted, toying with her long, softly curled inky black hair.

Hermione shuffled her feet awkwardly and looked away.

"That's really what I'm confused about; you see, I heard from… someone," She mumbled, trying not to get in anyone's bad books, "that after the summer you, well you were…"

"Facially disfigured? Yeah, it's amazing what people will believe, isn't it?" Pansy spat, glaring at the far wall as if it had personally offended her.

Hermione raised an eyebrow but decided not to press the issue. In all honesty, she was surprised Pansy had even allowed her into the room.

"So, um...who's the third?" Hermione asked, hastily changing the subject with an incredible lack of tact.

Pansy sat up and began examining her nails as she answered, Hermione wondered if the girl ever sat still.

"Just Tracey Davis; we _were _pretty good friends, but of course having a mentally disturbed roommate is such a social faux pas." Pansy said, elaborately waving her hand to further illustrate her point.

Hermione could barely hide her surprise; over her entire Hogwarts experience, Pansy Parkinson had spoken all of two words to her, and she was pretty sure they'd been "disgusting Mudblood."

"But anyway, enough about how pathetic my friends are. Let's discuss you; why is Miss Granger out after hours?" She teased, and Hermione sat stiffly on the bed opposite.

She considered telling Pansy to mind her own business and let her go to sleep, but they would be sharing a room all year, and besides it couldn't hurt to vent just a little…

X X X

"What was that about?!" Theo exclaimed, punching both his friends lightly on their shoulders as he headed over to Blaise and Draco.

Draco shrugged, a glare still prominent on his features. How dare she come early to invade the privacy of his house and his mind! He just couldn't seem to think straight whenever that bint was around.

Blaise leaned in and grinned widely, his gleaming white teeth almost shining in the light of the fire.

"Say what you want about Granger, but Slytherin Green really is her color." He smirked slightly, and Draco felt as though he'd been punched in the gut.

His house mates were supposed to be ignoring her or mocking her, not leering after her shapely behind as she walked away.

"Why would you care? She's just a stupid Mudblood." Draco spluttered, and Blaise's grin slipped to be replaced with a look of utter shock, but it was Theo who spoke up first.

"That's over the line; you know it doesn't matter, and you know we shouldn't' talk like that anymore." The boy said quietly, looking at Draco reproachfully.

Blaise nodded and shot Draco a displeased glance, and the pair walked off to find two new girls to flirt with.

Draco was left seething after them, his mind on fire. She'd been there all of two minutes and already she was turning his friends against him.

With a low growl, he slammed down the shot of Firewhiskey he'd been just about to drink, and stormed off to bed.

X X X

"You've got to be kidding me? Llamas?! How can you be afraid of llamas?" Pansy shrieked, clumsily pouring Hermione another shot and sloshing at least half of it over herself as she tried to pass it over.

Hermione shrugged and giggled, accepting the drink gratefully and throwing her head back to down it.

"They just, really freak me out; next question." She dictated.

The conversation had been rather jilted and awkward to begin with; that was until Pansy decided to have a little party of her own and Hermione had introduced her to several muggle drinking games. It was probably a bad idea, seeing as Hermione wasn't sure if she even slightly trusted the girl in front of her, and certainly didn't want to intrude on her new house's hospitality, but after a few shots she became less and less concerned.

"Ok, my turn." Pansy grinned cheekily and wracked her brain.

"Alright princess, who was your first? My money's on Potty." She giggled, and Hermione scowled.

"Definitely not...ewww." Pansy snorted and almost fell back from a fit of giggles.

"No, I'll tell you who I lost my virginity to, but you have to go first."

Pansy considered, and then nodded, it clearly wasn't much of an issue to her.

"Mine was Theo Nott. Regretted that the second after it happened I have to tell you. I was only just sixteen and thought I was a grown up." Pansy rolled her eyes and leaned back to lie on the floor where they were sitting. "Ok, you're up Grrrrrrranger!" She rolled the 'R' for so long and in such a ludicrous voice that both girls were once again in stitches for several minutes before Hermione eventually remembered her question.

Hermione sighed and leant her head back on the base of her bed.

"Alright; it was sixth year, right near the end actually, so I was nearly seventeen. Anyway, I'd been dating Blaise Zabini off and on throughout the year in secret."

Pansy choked on her drink and looked at Hermione incredulously, "You're not serious! God, I always wondered why Blaise was off women a bit in sixth year. We all thought he was about to come out."

Hermione burst out laughing, hitting her head as she slipped to the floor, which only made her laugh even harder. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so at ease; the last time she'd felt so comfortable around another person. Harry and Ron hadn't been acting like themselves, and with Ginny, there was always the age barrier, (Ginny was a little immature, especially when it came to solving her troubles, as was evident with Dean.) but around Pansy she just felt completely relaxed. Once the pair had eventually run out of breath to laugh with, Hermione managed to weakly ask for the time, and it turned out it was already well past three in the morning.

"Well, the party in the common room won't be over until around 5 or 6, but it's probably best if we hit the hay before Davis gets back; she's always pissy when I open the whiskey without her." Pansy explained, making a face as she stumbled to her feet.

Once she was balanced, she leaned down and offered Hermione her hand, which the other girl took with a look of surprise.

"Pansy, why on Earth are you being so nice to me?" Hermione asked bluntly, her usual subtlety impeded by her alcohol intake.

Pansy smiled slightly, and made her way over to her bed as Hermione made her way to hers.

"There are always bigger things to be worrying about, Granger. The sooner you realize that, the better."

* * *

**Hehe I already love Pans ;) **

**Final notice, getting more reviews would really be great you guys, not trying to be desperate for more stats or anything, but I'd just love to hear some theories/tips/ideas from you guys, and I'd definitely respond to whatever suggestions you have! :) **


	6. The Morning After

**Hellooooo, in case you're wondering; "What?! A Thursday update?!" Well, I've realised that in all honesty, being organised and having weekly updates is just terrible for me xD **

**Also, IMPORTANT: I have 3 very important exams coming up in the next few weeks, and I might not be able to post as often; so with the assistance of my absolutely AMAZING beta: BelovedEnemy83 (who has really been working her butt off with my scatterbrained and unpredictable schedule - give her a big hand!) I will be putting out two chapters this week, one today and another before next Thursday. **

**So thankyou ever so much to my aforementioned beta, BelovedEnemy83, who is not only an amazing editor but also writes some really great Dramione! (You should check her out) **

**Thankyou to LaughyCamel who's the reason chapter 5 shall henceforth be christened: More Slytherin than you think. **  
**If you have any chapter name suggestions for this one, pop it in your review and yours could be chosen! **

**And thanks to all of you who reviewed! I shall respond to your comments at the end. **

* * *

**Six:**

Hermione awoke on Saturday morning with a splitting headache and several souvenir shot glasses on her pillow.

"Rise and shine girlies!" Pansy chirped, throwing open the curtains much to the chagrin of both other girls in the room.

"Lay off Pans, it's not like you'll be leaving the dorm today anyway." Tracey moaned, putting her pillow over her head miserably as the bright light of the warm September morning flooded into their room.

Pansy shot her a dirty look and deliberately dropped a glass on the floor by her bed as she strolled past.

It shattered loudly, causing Tracey to jump out of her skin and almost fall out of bed.

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle slightly, but she bit the insides of her mouth in order to keep her laughter from escaping, she still wasn't sure of her place amongst her roommates. Sure she and Pansy had bonded over the Top Twenty Bachelors to Date special in witch weekly, but in all honesty they had both been incredibly drunk at the time.

"I may not be leaving the dorm today, Davis, but that doesn't mean I want you groaning and whining in here with me. You should take Granger down to the Great Hall with you. It's only 8, I'm sure breakfast will be served."

At that, both girls burrowed deeper into their respective bedding.

"Eight?!I'm pretty sure the rules were don't wake me up until at least after ten." Tracey moaned, and Hermione offered a groan in agreement.

Pansy placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the pair of them thoughtfully.

"Well, I need you both to leave because really, this room is a disgraceful mess and if you don't leave – I can't clean it up." She snapped, and then proceeded to cast a quick charm that had really come in useful since it's rediscovery in 6th year.

"Levicorpus." She said, her tone almost bored as she flicked her wand and both girls were immediately hoisted up by their respective ankles.

Both Tracey and Hermione yelped, but only Hermione bothered twisting about in mid-air, whereas Tracey just shot Pansy an irritated glare.

"You promised you wouldn't use that anymore." She growled, placing her hands on her hips and doing her very best serious expression, which just looked all the more hilarious when she was upside down.

Pansy smirked, but released the pair of them, and the two girls landed with two decidedly un-ladylike whumps on the floor.

"Oof." Tracey grumbled, her white blonde hair that was almost Malfoy platinum, had fallen rather gracefully about her pretty, round face.

Hermione couldn't remember seeing or hearing much about Tracey Davis, as the pair had had few classes together, but what she knew about her wasn't great.

Hermione then had to quickly remind herself that she'd heard nothing great about any Slytherin, but that probably had something to do with the dangerously violent house rivalry.

She chided herself mentally for judging the girl beside her, who was now grumbling as she hopped out of yesterday's clothes, and decided she really ought to give everyone a chance.

Apparently, Davis was of the same opinion when she noticed Hermione struggling to find a suitable outfit in her haphazardly packed suitcase.

The blonde smiled at the former Gryffindor, and helped pull Hermione to her feet.

"I insist you just wear something of mine today, Hermione." Tracey said, in a rather bossy tone that reminded Hermione fondly of Ginny Weasley. "You simply can't walk around in rumpled clothes, then everyone will know that you can't dress up properly after a hangover."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, the girl had a point, although she felt as though she were being a little intrusive on her first day there.

From behind her, she heard Pansy chuckle before the dark haired girl grabbed her towel and an outfit she'd set out for herself already.

"I'm going to sneak to the bathroom before anyone's awake," She explained, apparently still adamant about not being seen by any of her fellow housemates. "I'll leave you two it, but if you're both back in bed by the time I get back, I'll hex you out." She warned, and Hermione would have laughed, if she'd felt that the threat was a joke…

Tracey rolled her eyes but nodded, waving a hand airily.

"Off with you then, I promise we'll be out of your hair by the time you get back." Once Pansy was gone, she turned and sighed. "She's always been like that you know, _'everything has its place and everything must be in its place.'_ Goodness it used to drive everyone barmy." She exclaimed, gesticulating wildly as she spoke which provoked a small smile from Hermione.

"All right then, we simply must find you something to wear. Of course, you'll just have to borrow a pair of my morning-after- sunglasses, a must have considering how bloody bright this school is. If you go with the Givenchy ones, you'll just _have_ to wear denim…"

Hermione couldn't help but smile as the beautiful, rather ditzy girl trotted about her room, grabbing various garments and holding them up to Hermione's form as she went.

Hermione was incredibly bewildered about the girl's sudden amiability, but she then remembered hearing something a few years ago about Tracey being one of the few half-bloods in Slytherin house, and she supposed that the girl mustn't have much of a prejudice against muggle borns.

"Right, I know you stopped listening a few minutes ago Miss Granger, but I will choose to ignore your complete lack of manners on account of the fact that I've been informed before that I can be a little, OTT. Can you believe it? People actually say that!" She tittered, throwing several hangers of clothing items at Hermione as the other girl chuckled slightly.

"No, Miss Davis, I can't believe it at all." She said, her voice slightly muffled by the jeans that had just been thrown at her.

"Oh please, call me Tracey, everyone does." Tracey said sweetly, and Hermione had begun to formulate the impression that this Davis girl was a slightly more fashion forward and outgoing Luna Lovegood.

"Now then, no time for dilly dally, Pansy really will have our arses if we're not ready, plus we want to look great for breakfast, no occasion is too small to look fabulous." She sang, skipping over to one corner of the room to grab a pair of sunglasses that she quickly donned to complete her ensemble.

Hermione stripped hurriedly, not wanting to induce Pansy's apparent wrath on her very first morning there.

"I suppose you must be wondering why I'm being quite so nice to you." Tracey said, flouncing about in front of the mirror as she pouted at her reflection.

Hermione nodded as she pulled on the rather expensive looking black skinny jeans.

"Well, now that you mention it I was"

"Well, you see Hermione, when I joined the school I'm afraid our beloved house was still rife with hatred," She said dramatically, clutching a hand to her chest which caused Hermione to laugh. "And even though I was clearly considered good by our founder's standards to be in this house, my fellow students were often just _awful_ to me because I wasn't a pureblood. So trust me when I say, I know how you must feel right now." She said sympathetically, spinning Hermione around quickly in order to tie the stylish straps at the back of her casual, backless top in a lazy knot.

Hermione smiled and turned to thank the girl, who had already moved on to placing a pair of designer sunglasses on Hermione's nose.

"And you really have no need to thank me, I'm nice to everyone." She chirped, winking as she cast a quick smoothing charm on Hermione's hair. "Well, everyone who'll let me play dress up once in a while." She blushed, and then pushed Hermione towards their full length mirror.

"Well? What do you think?! I really hope you like it, I tried to go with what I thought would be your style because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Tracey said nervously, hopping about on her toes to see Hermione's expression in the mirror.

She'd dressed her in skinny black jeans, a cream, loose linen top that had to be tied at the back and her hair had been made to lay sleek and smooth about her shoulders.

"I love it! Hermione cried, turning around to envelope the girl in a tight hug. She'd guessed that at her truly bubbly attitude, Tracey would be a hugger – and she was apparently right as the other girl squealed in delight and pulled her close.

"Oh I'm so glad! I only straightened your hair because it is of my opinion that you should always wear a hangover better than you wore your party clothes, it just makes people _so _jealous." She teased, winking before grabbing Hermione's hand and tugging her towards the door, her long, beautifully silky white blonde hair swishing in her wake.

"Now come on, let's knock 'em dead." She grinned, pulling Hermione out of their dorm and strutting towards the common room.

X X X

Draco groaned into his porridge, still incredibly annoyed that Blaise had woken them all up so early with some nonsense about "cleansing tea being better in the early morning."

They were currently seated in their usual spots at the Slytherin table, he and Theo hunched over their breakfast (Nott, for once, barely eating) as Blaise calmly and serenely sipped his favourite morning tea.

"How can you be so bloody chipper?" Draco complained as Blaise smirked, raising a dark eyebrow coolly.

"I know how to handle my alcohol, Draco dear. And unlike you, I get up at five each morning to watch the sunrise over a nice cup of herbal tea."

Draco mumbled something about "bloody idiot" and went back to staring at his bowl as though it had personally offended him.

"Hellooo gentlemen!" A familiar voice cooed, and Draco moaned once more, unsure if he could take yet another happy face.

"Good morning Tracey, I trust you slept well." Blaise smiled politely, and then his eyes widened as he spotted the girl just behind his friend. "And who'd this lovely young lady?" He asked, a little confused until the slim, chocolate haired girl behind Tracey removed her sunglasses.

"Hermione?" He spluttered, whilst Draco exclaimed "Granger?!"

She winked, and sat down beside Tracey opposite them at the table.

"Myself and Hermione were practising our hangover dress-up this morning." Tracey said cheerfully, not bothering to remove her shades as she feared her splitting headache would worsen.

She'd was known for being truly awful before she could choose the days outfit, after accessorising a little at the weekend, or altering her school uniform during the week to her liking she was usually in much higher spirits.

Hermione nodded and smiled sheepishly at the boys opposite, reaching for the coffee pot and nothing else.

She replaced her sunglasses, realising that what Tracey had said earlier about the school being "so bloody bright" was in fact, completely true.

"So Hermione," Blaise said, and Hermione tried not to notice the fact that he, unlike his two best friends, referred to her by her first name. "When did you get quite so inebriated? I don't remember you re-joining us at the party last night?"

Hermione tried to ignore the fact that Draco was very pointedly avoiding looking at her, and instead glaring at his porridge, and replied.

"Well, after I returned to the dormitories Pansy opened a bottle of whiskey and we had a little too much fun." She said, smiling slightly at the blurred, yet happy memories.

Tracey looked personally offended.

"You opened the bottle without me?! Oh damn that Parkinson." She stropped, crossing her arms like a sulky little girl.

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at her roommate's childishness, but she apologised quickly all the same.

Blaise turned back to her, his curiosity piqued.

"Pansy? Really? How is she doing?" He asked nervously, not wanting to outright enquire about her apparent facial disfigurement.

"She's fine, actually. She seemed a little upset, emotionally, but as far as the facial scarring rumour goes…" She shrugged and Blaise shot Theo a filthy look, before realising that the smaller boy had apparently fallen asleep at the table, his face was now leaning on his toast.

With a chuckle, Blaise prodded him lightly until the boy jerked awake, and began slowly eating his food once more, apparently ignoring the fact that he had strawberry jam all up one side of his face.

Hermione giggled, but turned back to the conversation.

"Yes, I can't believe you all fell for that one, Theo I could see it, but you Blaise?" Tracey giggled and Blaise glared at her.

"Why on earth would you make up such a rumour?!" Blaise exclaimed, as Hermione smirked slightly into her coffee.

It was then that she spotted Harry and Ron making their way into the great hall, still both sporting the war wounds of the previous night.

She felt a pang of misery, she desperately missed her friends already, but then her anger consumed her once more as she thought about the events of last night.

She knew she'd forgive them eventually, she always did. At this point in time however, she certainly wasn't prepared to even speak to them, let alone accept an apology.

"Hermione, you agree don't you?" Blaise said, interrupting her thoughts and throwing in a new one to the mix.

Her eyes widened noticeably at the use of her proper name, up until that point, the only Slytherin who'd referred to her as Hermione had been Tracey, and the former Gryffindor got the feeling Tracey was sweet to everyone.

She noticed Blaise colour slightly, and his eyes slid over to Tracey, who appeared not to have noticed.

Hermione tried to force back the blush creeping up her cheeks and coughed awkwardly.

"Um, yes?" She responded, hoping no one had noticed the slightly embarrassing and unexpected exchange.

Draco Malfoy narrowed his eyes, he, of course, had seen everything. Not one tiny detail had managed to escape his notice, and he wasn't entirely sure how to react.

He watched the way Granger and his best friend interacted. It was bashful, almost playful; as though they knew something no one else did.

He felt a quick burning mix of rage and jealousy overwhelm him, he interpreted his feelings quickly, still a little unsure as to why he felt like reacting so strongly.

It was obvious, he reasoned. He and Blaise had been friends virtually since birth, and they'd both been taught to detest Granger's kind. (Of course Blaise, looking back on it now, had never truly been into any of that pureblood hierarchy business, he'd been a much more of a 'love the one you're with' sort of person. Draco wondered if he should have noticed that sooner.)

It was only natural that now the minx had swanned into his life, taken over his sanctuary of his house, he'd be upset. And the fact that Blaise seemed to be all too eager to fraternize with who, by all intents and purposes, was their enemy obviously explained the jealousy.

He agreed immediately with the sound logic his mind had formulated, and turned, ready to react accordingly.

"So Granger," He drawled, and she jumped a little, the small smile slipping from her face as she turned to face him. "Care to explain why you decided to invade the privacy of our house so early?"

Hermione blushed profusely and cleared her throat, mortified that he'd called her out so obviously when she'd just been getting used to the idea of being a Slytherin.

"Well, myself and a few… housemate had a disagreement of sorts." She said quietly, staring into her coffee.

Draco couldn't help but smirk. Making her uncomfortable had always appeased the part of him that was so jealous of her seemingly easy life.  
He decided to ignore the fact that Blaise was currently shooting him a look that could kill, and instead turned to Nott, who'd managed not to fall asleep in his breakfast over the past 5 minutes.

"What was it you were saying earlier Nott? About the kerfuffle in the Gryffindor common room?" Nott had begun to gossip earlier, the moment they'd reached the hall in fact. Understandably Draco, at the time, had told him to shut his bloody trap.  
But the blonde boy was beginning to realise the use of Nott's hunger for gossip.

The smaller boy perked up noticeably, and leant forward in an eager manner to spread his latest titbit. As usual, Blaise looked slightly uncomfortable at the gossiping, and Draco noticed in irritation that he was repeatedly looking over the table at Granger, as it to gauge her reaction.

"Right, get this. I heard from Thatcher who heard from Finnegan who heard from Thomas, that last night in the Gryffindor common room, Potter and the Weasel like, confessed their love for Granger! Apparently, there was a huge shouting match, they got in a fight and Hermio- I mean Granger stormed out after basically telling them both to shove it up their arses."

He finished, looking incredibly pleased with himself at the confounded looks on everyone's face about him.  
He then noticed the rather attractive looking brunette with a large pair of sunglasses seated next to Tracey.

"Well hello there, honey I don't believe we've met," He began, smiling and winking at her rambunctiously.

Hermione sighed and whipped off her sunglasses, and Theo leapt back from her as though he'd been shot.

"Whoa, Granger!? Look I'm sorry I had no idea," He began, stuttering awkwardly as he blushed bright red.

Hermione waved a hand, taking the news that gossip was spreading more lightly than she would have guessed.

"It's nothing, it's probably better people know about it anyway, you'll find out somehow."

Blaise and Tracey were still staring at her agape, whilst Draco had managed to transform his face of bewilderment into one of the purest smugness.

"Well, what an interesting turn of events, Granger's been playing the Weasel and little Potty, and yet she turns them both down and lets them fight amongst themselves, I have to admit Granger I never took you for the scheming type, but"

Hermione got up suddenly from the table, slamming her fist down as she did so and knocking over Draco's glass of water.

"Shut it, Ferret face." She snarled, and flounced off, leaving a group of incredibly surprised Slytherins in her wake.

* * *

**A/N: Tracey is not an OC, she's one of JK's creations, I just developed her a little more :) **

ON WITH THE REVIEW RESPONSES:

**LaughyCamel**: Thank you so much for the suggestion, as you can see it was the winning one! :D

**DracoLover25**: I love my Pansy too, althogh don't start thinking of her as too nice, as you can probably tell, she's a bit of a firecracker ;)

**dracosgirl007**: I can't wait either! She is still a lion at heart however, hence her slightly thin skin around Malfoy :P

**LK-HoGwArTs-hEaDgIrL**: Thankyou so much! :D

**IGOTEAMEDWARD**: I love that too :D

**Jules:** Yes, I appreciate the Angelina decision may seem a little odd right now, but that will be developed upon later... Thankyou for all your awesome comments!

See you soon (er than usual!) :)


	7. Forgiving that arsehole Harry Potter

**Helloooo there, told you I'd be early! **

**Well, I am eternally gratefull for my two new reviewers, thankyou very much for your posts! **

**In this chapter things get a little... heated. Fro you die-hard Dramione shippers (like myself) I want you to know that this is a Dramione fic, it's just going to be a little drawn out with some Hermione/Blaise along the way, but I find that this way it's often worth the wait? **

**Anyway, hope you like this one! **

* * *

Seven

Hermione stalked through the corridors, fury blazing through her as she tried not to cry.

She was so stupid. Of course it wasn't going to be all Witch Weekly, drunk dare games and makeovers; she was in Slytherin for God's sake! She felt an inordinate amount of rage directed at either herself, or Draco Malfoy. But who she blamed more, she couldn't quite tell. She knew she shouldn't have expected anything better, Draco was hardly a saint, as were the other half of the Slytherin population who were currently avoiding her. She'd clearly just gotten lucky when it came to Blaise and her roommates.

Blaise.

Thinking of him brought back an ache in her chest.

It reminded her of sixth year, feeling completely rebellious and all powerful as she snuck around near empty classrooms and broom cupboards, waiting for the handsome, olive skinned boy who insisted they should keep meeting, no matter how bad things got. But she knew it couldn't be like that with him again. Hell, she would try her best not to be like that with anyone for a good long time; romance only complicated things, as her ordeal in the Gryffindor common room had proven the previous day.

"Hermio- uh, GRANGER!" A familiar voice bellowed out behind her, and she cringed as the several dozen people moving around the 3rd floor corridor at the time turned to stare at her.

She spun round irritably to see the cause of her confusion and almost lust appear before her. Blaise Zabini was panting hard as he caught up, and slowed his run to a leisurely stroll that easily kept up with her fast paced stalk down the corridor; his long legs gave him the advantage.

"Out of shape?" She quipped, and couldn't help but smirk slightly as he placed a hand to his chest in mock offense.

"How dare you?" He gasped, and she cracked a genuine smile at that. "Now Granger, you know from personal experience that I happen to be in excellent shape." He teased, waggling his eyebrows at her as she threw her head back and laughed.

"Blaise, that was over a year ago; for all I know you could have been eating big Macs every day since then." She joked, but he merely looked at her in confusion.

"Big Macs?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Right, pureblood," she mumbled, "never mind. Why were you so desperate to catch up with me, anyway?"

Blaise sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Draco's a complete and utter git, I would have thought you'd know that by now."

Hermione nodded, blushing slightly. It was rather ridiculous for her to get so upset over such a little issue; she knew she could expect much worse to come, especially if vengeful Slytherins were involved.

"I know; I'm sorry I over-reacted. I really shouldn't have expected any better, and I know what some of the people in your house think." She sighed, and Blaise looked slightly upset.

"It's a shame it's gotten to such a stage where you expect no less Hermio-Granger." He said, once again fumbling over her name.

Hermione rolled her eyes and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Will you please just call me Hermione for Godric's sake?!"

Blaise shot her a wicked grin.

"Ah, so we're on a first name basis once again? Good, it would be tiresome to have you call out 'Zabini' in the sack." She punched him lightly on the arm and he grinned.  
"But I'll promise to call you Hermione only if you promise not to give up on us so easily. Tracey was heartbroken when you walked out; you should have seen her she practically hit Draco. Wittering on about how she'd 'lost her closest friend.'"

Hermione threw her head back and laughed.

She had a feeling things were rocky between Tracey and Pansy at the moment, but she realized with sudden surprise that she really had no issues with being Tracey's 'closest friend.'

"I promise. I know you're not all bad; Tracey, for one, seems completely lovely."

Blaise chuckled.

"She's a bit of an air head, that one, but a heart of gold. I don't think I've ever heard her talk of anything except celebrities, gossip and fashion."

Hermione smiled fondly; Tracey's utter brazenness yet sweet nature had really appealed to her, and she couldn't help but feel a little glad that they'd be sharing a room together.

She, Parvati and Lavender had never been close.

"Well, I appreciate you may not want to return to the hall, or even to Slytherin common room, but promise me you won't write us all off as Draco Malfoys?" Blaise joked, looking into her eyes as he said this in with mock severity.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but complied, nodding and smiling in response.

"Awesome." Blaise said, and then deliberated over whether to go for a goodbye hug. He eventually went with an awkward handshake and a wave as he headed back in the direction of the great hall.

Hermione felt her heart fluttering away in her chest, and had to lean against the wall for a moment of support; Blaise had always had that effect on her.

"Hermione? Hermione!" She sighed and desperately imagined the beautiful Blaise rushing down the corridor and swooping her into his arms, but she knew that voice far too well for her fantasy to be true.

She opened her eyes, stood up straight, and applied her very best 'peeved off' expression, ready for what promised to be a highly unpleasant conversation.

"Potter." She nodded, acknowledging him as he slowed to a walk and joined her against the wall.

"So, it's Potter now, then?" He asked, trying desperately to add some humor to the incredibly awkward situation. "Look, I came to apologize, actually."

Hermione sniffed. "It's about bloody time."

"I know the way I behaved last night in the common room was absolutely and truly awful. I shouldn't have embarrassed you like that. I could see how upset you were getting, but I'll admit I had… ulterior motives."

Hermione smirked.

"Ginny."

Harry nodded, though she hadn't really been suggesting, she'd known all along that he and Ginny had trapped themselves into a perilous game of love and jealousy.

"I'm so sorry Hermione; I wasn't thinking straight and I just knew that with her watching, she'd react like hell."

"And boy did she; I doubt she'll ever want to speak to me again, Harry." Hermione snapped ruefully.

"I promise to explain things to her; I'll do anything Hermione. The past twelve hours you've hated me have been utter hell, and I mean that completely. You're my best friend and I can't live with you being upset with me." He said dramatically, and Hermione almost laughed, but she could tell he was deadly serious.

"Well… I suppose seeing as you feel so awful about the whole thing…" She grinned as he beamed from ear to ear.

"Oh that's fantastic! Thank you so, so much! I really have missed you; Ron has too." He said, not very subtle.

Hermione sighed and leant back against the wall once again.

"I bet he is, but Ronald has deluded himself into thinking we're meant for each other; I'm not sure how we can go back to being friends."

Harry nodded thoughtfully.

"I do see your problem; but Hermione, I don't think it's a delusion. You do know how he feels about you, right?"

"Well sure," Hermione shrugged, "we had a mutual crush on one another for a few years. We 'consummated' that crush and then the feelings just… went. He told me that he'd 'made other commitments'. Basically, he was already shagging Parvati Patil."

Harry shook his head in disbelief.

"Why on Earth is he still playing you? You've got to know by now, Hermione that Ron still has feelings for you. Why doesn't he just tell the bloody truth!"

"Seems like you should be taking your own advice, Mr. Potter." Hermione smirked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry blushed.

"I guess you're right. Well, I'm so glad we're ok Hermione but I have to finish an essay before the common room gets busy again, see you around?" He asked nervously, and Hermione nodded and smiled, pulling her best friend into a hug.

"I hope so."

X X X

"I have to say, Granger just looks fantastic this year." Theo commented as he, Draco and Blaise strolled about near the greenhouses.

Blaise nodded almost eagerly.

"Don't you think? I reckon it's just because we haven't seen her hiding in her baggy school uniform; she's always been pretty."

Draco almost snorted, he was really getting tired of all of this Granger-centric conversation. It was like since she'd moved in, she was all anyone could talk about.

"So, uh, Blaise," Draco said quickly, taking the break in conversation as a chance for him to change the subject. "I hear there's a heads and prefect meeting with Professor Johnny today, what do you think's going on?"

Blaise shrugged, and his expression changed to that of a thoughtful one.

"I'm not sure, I think it had something to do with the new heads office for the head boy and girl of the main school. They're getting a workspace to organize stuff." He explained, and then Draco watched what he could only explain as his friend's eyes lighting up.

"What if it's the same for the eighth years?!" He grinned, and Theo nodded approvingly.

"Ah, if it is...mate, I would give anything to be you. I bet you'd have this amazing, closed off space with a huge desk. Oh, what I would give to fuck Hermione Granger on a desk." He said wistfully, and Draco shot him a skeptical look.

"So, how did sharing a workspace turn into sex on a desk?"

Theo winked.

"Well, we all know that the Italian Stallion works fast. Please let me have a go at her Blaise!" He whined, and Draco rolled his eyes.

"You should be so lucky, Nott. If you want to challenge me on this one, go ahead but I'm afraid I have the upper hand." Blaise teased as Theo looked at him questioningly. "We have a history." The Italian winked, and then strode ahead, leaving his two best friends to stare after him in shock.

"He's shagged her?!" Theo practically shrieked.

Brought back to Earth, Draco winced and shoved Nott on the arm.

"I believe that was what he was insinuating." Draco drawled calmly, although beneath the surface he was in utter turmoil.

And the worst part was – he didn't know why.

X X X

Hermione rushed through the corridors, mentally scolding herself for not being more prepared. She'd been so distracted by the whole dramatic fight scene, new house, and extremely attractive house mate conundrum that she'd completely forgotten about the prefect meeting until two minutes before it was due to begin. She rushed up the stairs to Professor Johnson's office and arrived, panting a little, but completely on time. Around twenty students were already seated in the room, including Blaise, Theo and a few Gryffindor 5th and 7th years she vaguely recognised. There were only one or two spare seats, and the closest one happened to be next to Theodore Nott, who was gesturing wildly for her to take it.

She smiled slightly at his rather adorable behaviour and sat beside him.

"Fancy seeing you here, hot stuff." Theo murmured rather close to her ear as she settled in beside him.

She jumped slightly and turned to stare at her housemate, but he'd already turned away to say something to Blaise. She was certain she heard him say something along the lines of "your move" and then an insult in Italian, but she shook her head and reasoned she must have just misheard him. After a few minutes of scanning the room to check for Professor Johnson, she turned back to the boys beside her.

"Hey, um guys?" She asked, and they both quickly turned to face her. "Where's Professor Johnson; do you know?"

Blaise shook his head and smiled slightly at her, Hermione felt the blush coming to her cheeks and nodded before looking away hastily.

Speak of the devil; for at that very moment, the acting headmistress burst through the office door, papers flurrying about her as she ran to the large desk before the student's chairs.

"Oh my Godric, I am so sorry students, Peeves was bothering a 4th -" finally looking up to see twenty students looking at her expectantly, she flapped a hand, trying to regain some composure. "You know what; never mind. Point is, meeting starts now. First item on the agenda, prefect duties."

She began blabbing on about new schedules and the responsibilities of the heads and prefects in the main school, and Blaise turned to smirk slightly at Theo, before raising a hand calmly.

"With respect, Professor." He said coolly, in a tone that could have been taken to be mocking had he not smiling so charmingly as he spoke, "Miss Granger and I, as the heads of the eighth year, have many important duties to be overseeing at this moment in time. It would be very useful to us if you could outline our news and then we shall catch up later?" He suggested, and then glanced at Nott. "In fact, as an eighth years prefect and a close friend of mine, I'm sure Theodore Nott would be happy to take notes whilst Granger and I… get down to business."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, and her suspicions of foul play were practically confirmed when Nott glowered up at Blaise.

However, Professor Johnson could see no apparent fault in this plan.

"That sounds like a truly spectacular idea. In that case, Miss Granger, Mr Zabini, I would like to inform you that you now have a senior student management workspace; your very own office on the 4th floor." She handed them each a slip of paper with the classroom number on it and gestured for them to leave. "If you wish, you may go and get on with your respective jobs in there right now. It seems as good a time as any to use the space."

Blaise smiled at Angelina and nodded his thanks, taking Hermione's arm as she went to protest.

"Now, now Hermione dear," He murmured, decidedly close to her ear, an action that caused her to shudder involuntarily.

Blaise left the room arm in arm with Hermione Granger, a fact that was not at all lost on his small, pouting friend.

X X X

"I must admit, this is terribly exciting. I was rather worried about doing all my assignments in the Slytherin common room." Hermione confessed as she left the Headmistress' office with a spring in her step.

Blaise chuckled and shook his head.

"Trust Miss Granger to be constantly worried about her homework." He teased, and she shot him a sneer but carried on regardless.

"Say what you want Zabini, this space could be very useful to us."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Blaise said with a wink, before elegantly moving in front of her and holding the door open.

Hermione decided to ignore his slightly randy attitude. She remembered this side of Blaise well, and tried to ignore her excitement at his flirtatious demeanor. Hermione opened the door first and sighed and clapped her hands in delight. Two large desks were positioned opposite each other in the centre of the room, and a comfortable looking sofa opposite a small, but cozy fireplace was in one corner of the room.

"Oh, it's just lovely. And look at the wall space! I could make so many flow charts." She said wistfully, ignoring Blaise as he chuckled beside her.

"Well, I'll admit it is better than sitting around in the common room watching Draco prat about."

At the mention of her archenemy's name, Hermione's smile slipped to be replaced with an expression of the utmost severity.

"That's something I think it's important we bring up now. As Draco isn't one of the heads, he, nor any of your or my other friends will be permitted to loiter around our office." She dictated, and Blaise couldn't help but smirk.

"Well actually Hermione, he is an eighth year prefect, Nott was just filling in for him today because he was in a decidedly petulant mood. Unfortunately for you, Draco will spend as much time in here as he pleases."

Hermione groaned and sat down with a sigh in her desk chair, holding her face in her hands for what she certainly didn't expect to be the only time that year; not if she and Malfoy were to get more acquainted.

"Hey now," Blaise said kindly, lowering himself to her level as he reached for her hand kindly. "It won't be all that bad. You know, he's not a truly evil bugger."

Hermione sniffled and shrugged, and Blaise chuckled and kissed her hand before pressing it softly against her cheek.

"Besides," He spoke softly, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek this time, and then moving on to her freckled nose, "I'm sure we'll manage to get-" He then moved on to her other cheek, before slowly and carefully moving in towards her lips. "-some alone time." He whispered, and Hermione felt his breath against her lips before she closed her eyes and leant in towards him.

As their lips met, she was hit by how well they fit together; how perfectly balanced he made their kiss between passion and tenderness. She moaned softly into his mouth, and felt him jolt at the sound. He stood up, his lips still locked onto hers and pulled her to her feet. Hermione completely forgot who she was, where she was, and the fact that she and Blaise should really have been sorting out the duties for the respective eighth year prefects. All she thought was of the hundreds of times he'd pulled her aside between lessons and the moments they'd spent in the room of requirement when they were supposed to be on duty.

She was lost in the memories of him.

That, she would reason with herself later, was the only reason that she allowed herself to wrap her long, lithe legs around his waist and deepen the kiss as he pushed her against the wall.

Of course that was the only reason.

Obviously.

Hermione hastily reached for his shirt, tugging at the buttons as he did the same to her, all the while still wrapped around one another. She whimpered into his mouth slightly as his tongue flicked in her mouth, and he growled and went to rip off her shirt.

"Ahem."

Hermione immediately let go, dropping her legs from around Blaise's waist and promptly almost stumbling to the floor, her legs jelly after their moment of passion.

She began hastily buttoning up her shirt, her fingers fumbling as Theo Nott looked upon the pair in confusion, and at Blaise with slight irritation.

This was going to get complicated.

* * *

**Oh Hermione, you have no idea... **

**See you ASAP, I will be doing a LOT of revising in the next two weeks though! **


	8. Draco's a wittle confused

**Heloooooo party people! **

**I am here after a pretty long break, but as my Biology exam went well and I've got some time before my Chem and Physics exams, I AM BRINGING YOU TWO FURTHER CHAPTERS! **

**Huzzah! **

**This is all thanks to my incredible beta; BelovedEnemy83 who is truly just fantastic, thank you very much :) **

**Anyway, there is some Dramione interaction in these next few chapters, and also a little drama too ;) **

**I would love to see some comments on plot/ideas/where you think this is going, I just love theories! **

**Anyway, thank you for your continued support :) **

* * *

Eight

"Wow, ok so, hi?" Blaise spluttered suddenly, hastily doing up the buttons on his shirt and smiling incredibly awkwardly at his best friend in the doorway.

Theo nodded very slowly, his face still pretty much unreadable.

"Hi… I see you were getting busy?" He asked slowly, surveying the scene.

Two students, both with rumpled clothes, mussed up hair and Blaise with very literal lipstick on his collar; the evidence was beyond incriminating.

"You bloody git!" Theo cried, but his face split into a grin and he walked over and slapped Blaise on the back. "I knew you were practically infatuated with the wench, and then you pull right away? Brilliant, bloody brilliant!"

He cheered, and Blaise did something Hermione had just assumed he was incapable of.

He blushed.

"Alright Nott, let's not overdo it." He hissed, glancing awkwardly at Hermione as he flushed bright red. She giggled slightly but decided to spare him his embarrassment and make her escape.

"I should probably be getting back to the seventh year heads to check patrol times." She smiled and waved before almost running down the hall, utterly mortified.

Blaise watched her go, slightly wistful and Theo punched him on the arm.

"You are gaging for it mate." He grinned, and it was then Blaise's turn to return the punch.

"Shut up Nott, and I am definitely not." He spat, staring down his nose at the smaller boy as he regained some of his composure. "And you can't go blabbing about this, alright? It was only a kiss, and even last year when we were actually dating we kept it secret." He explained, and then immediately regretted his words.

"You dated Granger?!" Theo asked incredulously, "I thought you were just shagging her!"

Blaise groaned and put his head in his hands; this was going to take some explaining.

X X X

"Hermione? Oh great, you're here!" Luna appeared to be in charge of assigning prefect duties, which Hermione was actually rather glad about seeing as she hadn't seen much of the girl over the last year. "I have a copy of the schedule for you and Blaise to put up in your office." She said airily as a few other seventh years bustled around their prefect office.

"Thanks so much Luna. I know I'm patrolling tonight," Graveyard shift, she added in her mind in a decidedly bitter tone, "who am I paired with?"

"Oh, your roommate Pansy Parkinson actually, so it should be easy for you two to meet up, in fact-"

"Why bother? It's not as if she'll leave the room anyway. Bloody Slytherin coward." Spat one of the other prefects, and a few other mumbled in agreement.

Hermione felt a pang of rage dart through her.

She didn't know Pansy very well, but it was obvious that the girl was locked up in her dorm not because she was too cowardly to leave.

"Just shut up about Parkinson, alright? She went through some truly awful stuff last year, and you all know nothing about her current situation." Hermione snarled back, and flounced around to stalk back to the Slytherin dormitories.

She checked her watch; it was only just past eight. She'd missed dinner due to the prefect meeting and her and Blaise's little… excursion, but on the bright side she had just under two hours to convince Pansy to patrol with her.

Hermione Granger was nothing if not persistent.

She marched through the Slytherin common room with purpose, ignoring the few nasty glares she got and instead heading straight for the dormitories.

"Pansy, tonight is the night you leave this room." She said dramatically as she flung open the door to their room.

Both Tracey and Pansy looked up from their almost identical positions on their beds. Both girls were lying on their stomachs, their legs crossed at the ankles as they flipped through their chosen reading material. Tracey was flicking through Vogue, whilst Pansy appeared to be reading Pride and Prejudice. Hermione barely had time to inquire about her odd, Muggle reading material as Pansy sighed, rolled her eyes and shut her book.

"Fat chance Granger; why on Earth would I?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as Hermione placed her hands on her hips.

"We have patrol tonight." She said, realizing it sounded a lot less impressive and convincing than she'd already thought.

Pansy chuckled and re-opened her book, whereas Tracey's attention had been caught.

"I actually think that isn't a bad idea; you really should be getting out of here Pans." The blonde said, her normally cheerful demeanor replaced by one of the utmost severity. It was almost comical on her.

Pansy groaned and set her book on the nightstand, rolling on her back to look to the ceiling for answers.

"I really don't see why you're making such a big deal of this. I've been in my room for what, three days? That's nothing."

Tracey looked at her curiously.

"Well yes, but weren't you here all summer as well?" She asked, looking at the dark haired girl in confusion.

Pansy shot Tracey a dark look, before turning to face Hermione, who was currently processing this new information.

"So you've been in this room for over three months?!" Hermione cried out, and Tracey nodded.

"Yeah Pans, that's a problem. That's like, 3 periods."

Both other girls decided to ignore Tracey's contribution, and instead continued their own conversation.

"Look it's not that big of a deal! I left my room all the time this summer, there were no students around so I just wandered about the castle! Also, I could leave my room all the time at night." She pointed out, and yet for some reason, that was unfathomable to her;

Hermione grinned., "Well then, you shall have no problem coming out for duties with me tonight. It starts at 10, which is the eighth year's curfew, and ends at 3. Is that night time enough for you?" She crossed her arms over her chest and her face lit up in smug satisfaction.

As far as Hermione was concerned, she'd just covered Pansy's two points of issue, the amount of students, and the early hour.

Parkinson scowled, but realized that her roommate's logic was sound.

"Fine. I'll go with you, but I don't promise not to bitch the entire time." She retorted, and Tracey looked up in utter confusion.

"How many negatives was that?"

Hermione shot her a sympathetic look, and then turned back in confusion to Pansy, who had once again picked up her Jane Austen novel.

Pansy blushed slightly and shrugged when she noticed Hermione looking at her choice of book.

"While I was here over the summer I didn't have a whole lot to do, but turns out in the fiction section of the library there are a whole lot of muggle books." She shrugged once more, averting her eyes so Hermione wouldn't notice her embarrassment. "I started making my way through some of them, that's all."

Despite herself, Hermione couldn't help but grin.

"What's the big deal? It's just a book, the film was far better anyway." Tracey scoffed, and then pouted, clearly jealous about being left out of the conversation. "Hermione, come and read this month's Vogue with me."

Hermione laughed, but accepted the space Tracey was patting beside her on the bed, and began pointing out this season's Muggle catwalk "disasters". She hadn't a clue how it had happened, but somehow, Hermione Granger was becoming friends with the Slytherins.

X X X

"Just shut up Theo; I'm not going to believe you, and even if I did, why would I care?" Draco snapped, furiously ignoring his small, irritating room-mate as they tried to avoid the Gryffindor currently staying in their room.

For the most part of the "Switch" so far, Dean Thomas hadn't been much of a bother. He'd barely spoken two words to his dorm mates, and had spent the entirety of the day hanging around snogging the Weasley girl. All in all, not too annoying. However Draco wasn't sure how comfortable he was about Nott gossiping right in front of the former

Gryffindor who was currently reading some muggle book about "Football".

"It is completely true," Nott insisted, being even more irritatingly persistent than usual, "if it wasn't, how would I know that Granger is wearing a rather lovely pink bra today?"

Draco couldn't hide his intrigue and disgust at that and he spun round to face Theo in disbelief, the other boy was grinning smugly at the youngest Malfoy's expression.

"I don't know, maybe you made a bloody good guess?" Draco snapped, for some reason he found himself feeling incredibly annoyed by all this.

_It means nothing, it's probably not even true. _He assured himself calmly, slipping back into his usual, cool demeanor. He would not be perturbed by that irritating little witch and the fact that she was hounding his best friend. _That's the only reason I care. _He assured himself, after all it made perfect sense, he was just once again upset about the fact that she was trying to shag his friend. Granger herself really had nothing to do with the hot ball of jealously that he felt each time she smiled at Blaise; like he was being punched in the gut.

Nothing at all.

The dormitory door swung open dramatically, and Theo muttered; "Speak of the devil" as Blaise Zabini entered grandly, with the biggest grin Draco had seen on his face in months.

"Evening gents." He nodded towards his three roommates, even shooting Thomas his charming smile.

Draco's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What are you so bloody chipper about?" He muttered, and Blaise sighed happily as he fell back on his four poster, that annoyingly joyous grin still on his ridiculous face.

"I don't know Draco, sometimes you just have a damn good day."

Nott grinned maliciously.

"Yes, well we all know why that is don't we? You don't have to be so smug about nearly having Granger on that damned desk Zabini."

Blaise shot him a half-hearted glare, but Draco could tell that Blaise was anything but annoyed that Nott seemed to be spreading the word. He seemed, if anything, even more pleased with himself.

It was sickening.

"Yes, well I'd say it was quite an achievement." The Italian shrugged, and Draco blanched.

Of course he'd had enough clues to suggest that what Nott was talking about was true, but hearing it confirmed by the man himself somehow seemed to make the situation even worse.

"What, you mean it's true?!" Draco spat, and Blaise looked at him curiously.

"Yes, I don't see why that bothers you quite so much Draco. I know we had all that pureblood supremacy stuff drilled into us, but I thought you'd actually matured over the last few years to see it was all bullshit." He said, his tone changing to a slightly cooler one; he was annoyed about this.

"Of course I'm not annoyed about her blood status, it's not like that mattered." Draco muttered, because in all honesty, he'd known that since he was fourteen and stopped believing all girls had germs. "It's just… well it's Granger." He said with a sneer, and Blaise had the audacity to laugh in response.

"Malfoy you and I both know she stopped being that buck toothed little girl at some point in our fourth year." He chuckled once again. "She's really matured rather well, don't pretend you haven't noticed."

Draco blushed a furious shade of pink and crossed his arms before heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Blaise asked in a bored voice, well used to his friend's temper tantrums.

"Out." Draco spat, before leaving and slamming the door behind him.

"Well that was odd, one would almost think he had a bloody thing for the girl!" Theo laughed, grabbing his favourite Quidditch book and falling back onto his bed.

Blaise smiled thoughtfully.

"Yes; one would."

X X X

* * *

**Woooow what is Blaise planning...? ;) get ready for some dramama next chapter!  
A review would be much appreciated, though I'd like to thank everyone for 110 follows! :O **


	9. What's up with Parkinson?

**Here's your next chapter (earlier than usual as promised)  
**

**And also, OH MY GOODNESS 36 reviews?! I was hoping for 30 so those extra six were totally unexpected and I loved every one :)  
Thank you so much! **

**Hope you enjoy, a review would be incredibly appreciated my friends! :) **

* * *

Nine

"C'mon Pans, we're already two minutes late." Hermione whined as the dark haired Slytherin turned and scowled at her, before slamming her book down.

"Fine, I'm done with the chapter anyway." She snapped, flouncing out of the room ahead of Hermione and almost pushing her on the way past.

Hermione looked at Tracey questionably, and the other girl just shrugged.

"You shouldn't have gotten her to do something she didn't want her to do." She replied with a sour chuckle, and then turned back to her issue of Vogue.

Hermione waved a brief goodbye and then ran out after Pansy into the common room.

Luckily as it was already well past ten, there weren't any students present, because Hermione had a feeling that if there had been Pansy would have marched straight back into their dormitory.

"Let's get this over with." Pansy said, and Hermione noticed in surprise that her voice seemed almost tremulous, and not near its usual sarcastic sneer.

She nodded, and led the way out into the corridor.

The first hour passed without much happening, as was the usual case with patrols.

Hermione had usually been able to pass the time by chatting with her partner, but for some reason Pansy was completely silent, and seemed to tense and jump slightly every time Hermione even coughed or bumped her arm.

It was odd, and a little concerning.

At around half past 11, Hermione paused as she heard what she thought may have been footsteps just a few meters away.

"Pansy did you hear that?" She asked quietly, and the other girl almost jumped out of her skin. Hermione watched in horror as all the colour drained from her face.

"What? What did you hear?" Pansy asked shrilly, and the footsteps echoed a little louder.

Hermione grabbed hold of the girls hand and raised her wand, turning towards the source of the steps, although the beam of light from her wand came short of the end of the corridor. The footsteps stopped, and then came once again, this time a little faster, more urgent. Hermione had been just about to turn and ask the girl beside her if she wanted to call for Filch or not, when she felt Pansy's hand slip from hers. Hermione turned just in time to see Pansy fall to the floor, slumping in a heap as her arms twitched slightly and

her eyes rolled back into her head.

"PANSY!" She shrieked, and numbly registered the person moving towards them break into a run.

She completely ignored whoever was now almost at her side, and instead focused all her energy on lifting the other girl to her feet and supporting her limp body on her shoulders.

"Pansy come on, you're ok, you're ok." Hermione whispered desperately, hobbling along the corridor as fast as she could towards the hospital wing, which luckily they'd only just passed.

She could her someone calling out her name, they sounded confused and worried but she really had no time to worry about what some first year had to say; she had to get Pansy help, and fast. Draco had been returning from one of his legendary sulks, it was well past even eighth year's curfew, and he'd been hoping to slip by the prefects and Mrs Norris with little trouble, and so when he'd heard the footsteps echoing in front of him, he'd frozen for a minute.

"Pansy did you hear that?" A familiar voice whispered, barely audibly.

Draco almost groaned. Granger? Of course it was Granger, it was like he couldn't escape her lately. He made the decision to simply walk straight past the annoying girl, ignoring her as she protested loudly, getting more and more frustrated as he just kept walking.

He smirked to himself and resumed walking down the corridor, yes that would annoy her sufficiently enough. That was when he saw the shadow of who he assumed must have been Parkinson slip to the floor. Granger was practically screaming at the girl as she tried to pull Pansy to her feet. Draco broke into a run, it was for Pansy he told himself. His sudden need to help had nothing to do with the fact that Hermione's voice had sounded terrified, scared, and thick with worry.

Nothing at all.

"Hermione!" He called out as she began to stumble along the corridor, but she wasn't listening. Whatever affliction had affected Parkinson had clearly petrified the former Gryffindor, whose face was almost as pale as the girl she was trying to support.

She ignored him all the way to the hospital wing, which luckily wasn't far, as though he offered numerous times to grab Pansy's other arm, Granger had completely blanked him.

He felt slightly irritated by that, but resigned himself to simply opening the door to the infirmary and calling out for Madam Pomfrey as Hermione limped awkwardly over to the nearest bed and helped Pansy onto it. It was only when Pomfrey began bustling about and checking Pansy's reflexes and temperature that Hermione seemed to return to herself. She answered all of the older witch's questions calmly and in detail, and soon Madam Pomfrey was able to retrieve the correct soothing potion and begin to make her diagnosis.

"Thank you very much Miss Granger, you've been a great help. You and Mr Malfoy are of course permitted to stay with your friend, although I can assure you she will make a complete and quick recovery."

Hermione jumped slightly at the mention of Draco's name, and spun around to see him standing awkwardly just behind her.

"When on Earth did you get here?" She spluttered as Madam Pomfrey bustled back to her office.

Draco rolled his eyes, "I walked with you to the hospital wing Granger. Did you really not notice? I hadn't pegged you for being quite so dim." He muttered lightly as Hermione blushed slightly pink, before raising a hand accusingly.

"You were the one wondering about after hours! Why I ought to be deducting points right now Malfoy!" She snapped, and he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, deduct points from your own house when they've barely got used to accepting you; brilliant idea." He pointed out, and she crossed her arms huffily.

"What's wrong with Parkinson then?" Draco asked, trying to lightly change the subject. Hermione sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know, I really haven't had much time to think it over." She pointed out, before cocking her head to the side and pondering the problem. "I think it might be some form of PTSD. She's had a really difficult year. In all honesty I'm just glad Pomfrey said it was a minor fit."

Draco nodded slowly, trying to ignore the fact that he was holding a civil conversation with Hermione Granger and hadn't yet broken out in angry hives. For some reason it annoyed him even more that he was able to get along with her, it made the past six years

of hating her seem a little more pointless. He watched with mild interest as Hermione picked up the cloth Pomfrey had left at Pansy's bedside and bad it gently over the girl's forehead. Pansy had slipped into an apparently restful sleep thanks to the potion she'd been given, but her fever was still up.

"I don't understand you Granger." He mused, and she looked up in mild annoyance.

"And why would that be?"

"Well, you spend all of your school life hating every single member of Slytherin house, and then one of them gets a little ill and you start lovingly caring for her." He snorted. "Quite a change if you ask me."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but paused a little as she continued to dab at Pansy's forehead.

It _was _a curious change.

"I'm not sure really, I suppose I just realized that Pansy, Tracey," She paused a little longer than made him comfortable before saying the next name, "Blaise...well, they're different to what I expected them to be...Nicer."

Draco looked away, jealousy pulsing angrily in his mind as he watched how easily she could forgive people who were part of a house that stood against everything she was.

It wasn't fair.

"Don't be fooled; Blaise is just in it for a quick shag." He snarled quickly, and instantly regretted the statement.

Hermione turned and glared at him, before replacing the cloth on the bed side table and standing to face him.

"You just believe that Malfoy. The fact of the matter is we were in a committed relationship for a large part of our sixth year, and Blaise certainly seemed to enjoy himself." She snapped, smirking in satisfaction at the look of distaste marring his features.

"You stupid little Muggle born." He snapped, and then felt about as shocked as she looked at this statement.

What on the bloody Earth had stopped him from saying Mudblood? He'd known her for nearly eight years and had never had any qualms about saying it before; what on Earth had changed?!

She smiled at him slightly, a genuine, pitiful smile that just made him even more furious.

"I'll tell you how she's doing tomorrow at breakfast, you may as well go to bed." She said softly, to which he nodded stiffly in reply and almost ran from the room.

God, he hated her.

He hated how politely she'd just spoken to him, he hated how that little, genuine smile was the first and probably last she'd ever send his way, and how it hadn't made him want to throw up. He hated how easily she'd managed to forgive his friends, worst of all he hated how he wished she could forgive him, how he hadn't been able to say that damned word to her face.

He hated that he cared.

But most of all, he hated how in truth, he had never really hated her at all.

And with that thought, Draco Malfoy's world began to flip.

Because what on Earth did he feel for her if it wasn't hatred?

X X X

"Why didn't you wake me?!" Tracey wailed when Hermione stepped through the door to their dormitory the following morning after spending the early hours with Pansy before she woke up.

Hermione winced at the high pitched noise before shooting her roommate an apologetic glance.

"I'm so sorry Tracey, it was all such a blur. I just wanted to make sure she was ok."

Tracey's expression immediately softened, Hermione had a feeling the pretty little girl in front of her had never been able to hold a grudge against anyone.

"Oh, I completely understand." She exclaimed, and then took Hermione completely by surprise when she engulfed her in a tight hug.

Hermione smiled slightly before pulling away and looking Tracey in the eyes.

"Well I'm guessing you want to know what's going on." Tracey nodded vigorously, her usually carefree demeanor replaced by a very obviously worried one.

"Madam Pomfrey told me she believes that Pansy is suffering from a form of PTSD, coupled with a mild agoraphobia." Tracey looked bewildered, and Hermione quickly explained. "That's a fear of crowds and public spaces. The events of last year really affected Pansy, and she confided in me and Madam Pomfrey that she's afraid other students will blame her for not taking part in the war."

"But that's ridiculous! She was held captive in her parents' basement for the entire battle!" Tracey exclaimed furiously, and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"I know, but Pansy's afraid people will think she was helping The Dark Lord in that time; she told us that." Hermione sighed and rubbed her forehead sadly. "She thought someone would try to kill her for being a traitor."

Tracey slumped on her bed, looking absolutely heartbroken.

"I've been so cruel to her Hermione, I thought she was just being lazy." The blonde choked out, and Hermione went to her side.

"Pansy doesn't blame you y'know. She wanted me to explain it all to you and apologize on her behalf."

Tracey looked up at her incredulously.

"Why would she want to apologize? And why not say it herself, it's not like she's dying right? Oh my god, she's not dying?!" Tracey practically shouted, jumping to her feet as Hermione chuckled slightly and shook her head.

"No she's definitely not. In fact, with the right treatment and support, Madam Pomfrey thinks she can make a full recovery. But anyway, she wanted to apologize for not telling you anything. And she asked me to tell you because she thought you wouldn't want to see her."

Tracey barreled towards the door.

"Like hell I wouldn't." She snapped, leaving Hermione to rush after her.

X X X

Hermione stood awkwardly outside of the hospital wing as the two girls inside sobbed rather loudly and dramatically.

She smiled in relief as Blaise came over to join her.

"Oh thank goodness you've shown up, they're having a dramatic reunion in there and I just feel so out of place!" She exclaimed with a giggle as Blaise grinned.

"Well it's good they've finally sorted things out, they were being a little cold towards each other for a while. I heard about Pansy and was going to check in on her, but I do not want to get in the middle of those two drama queens." He chuckled and Hermione nodded.

"Neither do I." She admitted, and he looked at her with a glint in his eye.

"Well, it seems Miss Granger, that the pair of us are at a loose end. Whatever shall we do to each other?" He asked suggestively and she laughed.

"Don't you mean _with _each other?" She corrected with a smirk, he merely shrugged.

"Well, take your pick, they both sound pretty good to me." He grinned, moving closer towards her and lowering his head slowly.

"Ahem."

The pair jerked apart as though they'd been electrocuted to see Draco Malfoy standing rather awkwardly in the corridor opposite them.

"Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed in an overly chipper tone, while Blaise muttered something about 'not catching a break.'

Draco smiled forcibly at them and nodded curtly at Hermione.

"Granger. I see your displays of affection are becoming steadily more public." He muttered icily, and she blushed before turning back to Blaise.

"I'll, um, see you later?" She asked quickly, trying to ignore Malfoy's eyes boring into them.

Blaise smiled once more, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear gently.

"I'm counting on it." He whispered in her ear, before moving away and facing his friend who looked about ready to commit homicide.

"Bye then!" Hermione managed to splutter, feeling a little flustered as she got away from the scene as fast as she could.

"Draco, nice to see you. Having a good morning?" Blaise asked cheerfully, opening the door to the hospital wing for his friend who merely shot him a dark look.

"Perfectly fantastic Zabini, just fantastic."

X X X

* * *

**Anyone else feel like Blaise is maybe rubbing it in Draco's face a little... ;) **

**Next chapter will see some relationships developing and a little more Blaise/Hermione action, see you in a bit! :D**


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